Trump Mocks Reporter with Disability

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Trump Mocks Reporter with Disability

November 27, 2015 – It appears nothing is off-limits for GOP frontrunner Donald Trump who mocked a reporter suffering from arthrogryposis, a condition that affects joint movements. Speaking at a rally in South Carolina, Trump referenced reporter Serge Kovaleski, who in 2001 had written an article about the candidate for The Washington Post. Kovaelski currently works for The New York Times.

While impersonating Kovaleski, Trump jerked his arms and body and held his hands in a claw-like manner reminiscent of the disease’s symptom.

Trump has fired back stating that his impression of Kovaleski had nothing to do with the reporter’s physical condition:

“I merely mimicked what I thought would be a flustered reporter trying to get out of a statement he made long ago. If Mr. Kovaleski is handicapped, I would not know because I do not know what he looks like. If I did know, I would definitely not say anything about his appearance.”

The Donald then doubled-down with:

“Serge Kovaleski must think a lot of himself if he thinks I remember him from decades ago — if I ever met him at all, which I doubt I did. He should stop using his disability to grandstand and get back to reporting for a newspaper that is rapidly going down the tubes.”

Before Trump issued his denial, the Ruderman Family Foundation, which advocates for the disabled, said it was “unacceptable” to have a “presidential candidate mocking someone’s disability as part of a national political discourse.”