At a recent rally, Donald Trump appeared to mock a New York Times reporter with a disability:
Trump mocks the physical appearance of a reporter who suffers from a congenital disease. https://t.co/8jk1tuWwLX
— Suzy Khimm (@SuzyKhimm) November 25, 2015
Here’s the video, in case you missed it:
Since then, Trump’s been under heavy fire from much of the public:
@SuzyKhimm What a horrible, flailing, bullying thing to do.
— Elizabeth Tamny (@etamny) November 25, 2015
.@etamny @JohnnyDee62 @SuzyKhimm Yes, and it's shocking that so many are excited by that. He's uncivilized, rude and inappropriate at best.
— marvymusenberg (@marvymuse) November 25, 2015
https://twitter.com/GregortheMendel/status/669654816881184768
As a disabled American, I was wondering when Trump was going to get around to offending me. Took you long enough.https://t.co/RXrwg4P63s
— Sarah (@sarahwhelmed) November 26, 2015
@SuzyKhimm Donald Trump has sunken to a new low…just when I thought he couldn't sink lower, he proves me wrong
— Eyes for the People (@codeframesf) November 25, 2015
And the media were all over it:
Trump mocking the disability of a NYT reporter is eerily reminiscent of Rush Limbaugh's mocking of Michael J Fox: https://t.co/9qeE3wL3My
— Media Matters (@mmfa) November 26, 2015
Did @realDonaldTrump go too far defending 9/11 claims by apparently mocking a reporter w/ a disability: https://t.co/ttKpVhAHgL
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) November 26, 2015
Trump Mocks Reporter With Physical Disability https://t.co/JvSri2RX53 #p2
— Alan Colmes (@AlanColmes) November 26, 2015
Donald Trump appears to mock disabled reporter – video https://t.co/BeooWLt7U8
— The Guardian (@guardian) November 26, 2015
Trump mocks disabled New York Times reporter https://t.co/Ce4DHNoIK4 pic.twitter.com/Ba9aW4Jl6J
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) November 26, 2015
"Trump has added new item to growing list of presidential campaign firsts: mocking a person’s physical handicap." https://t.co/MvLjaMTPAx
— Roger Simon (@politicoroger) November 26, 2015
#DonaldTrump angers NYT for mocking reporter Serge Kovaleski's physical disability. https://t.co/vOiHoRjSQt
— Mark Mooney (@mxmooney) November 26, 2015
.@realDonaldTrump mocks @nytimes reporter @sergenyt's disability https://t.co/k7ELYgepHkhttps://t.co/KrLVQDI7Ly
— CNNMoney (@CNNMoney) November 26, 2015
.@nytimes calls Trump's impression of reporter with disability "outrageous"; his response https://t.co/JzATohNVId pic.twitter.com/pOC2p4DY1I
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 27, 2015
Mocking a reporter with a disability is just the beginning for Trump. https://t.co/iBPfG1Nnhg
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) November 27, 2015
Trump mocking physical disabilities is nothing new https://t.co/dwi5qdzNBK pic.twitter.com/U53WLFNyNw
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) November 26, 2015
Trump faces heat for ‘outrageous’ mocking of reporter with disability: https://t.co/2ZHGd0wmlB pic.twitter.com/HvWz5Oic5N
— The Hill (@thehill) November 26, 2015
Outrage in U.S. as Donald Trump mocks a reporter's disability https://t.co/MWQeSyx3qP pic.twitter.com/tV925YWuVH
— Bloomberg Business (@business) November 27, 2015
But some tweeters can’t help but point out that someone beat Trump to the punch:
Reminder: Obama made fun of the Special Olympics in 2009 https://t.co/08UIEHh7gP https://t.co/JKVk3wN5xq
— Aleister (@AmericanGlob) November 26, 2015
Anyone else remember that?
Obama compares his Bowling score to Special Olympics. Sad https://t.co/eqjgGsG67s
— Linda Hamilton (@Linhamilton7) November 27, 2015
Funny … we don’t recall that getting quite the same level of media outcry.
@kengread @THE_DAILY_BLEAT @mmfa Did you ask that of Obama when he made the "special olympics" comment on the late night talk show?
— Charlie (@chuckles711) November 26, 2015
@HuffingtonPost But you were ok with Obama's Special Olympics joke, right?
— illinoisPat (@illinoisPat) November 26, 2015
@ChuckLane1 @CHSommers Not good. Obama got a pass when he mocked the Special Olympics on Leno…but that was Obama.
— Humbert Marcuse (@PutinsLilPony) November 25, 2015
@politicoroger @NoahCRothman Yeah, a typically dickish move, but Obama mocked the Special Olympics in 2009 – true to his dullard's humor.
— Humbert Marcuse (@PutinsLilPony) November 26, 2015
@RobProvince and Obama's "Special Olympics joke."
Trump deserves the scrutiny on this one, but so do the libs who do it too.
— Gomes (@GomesBolt) November 27, 2015
***
Update:
Some of our readers have pointed out that whereas President Obama ultimately apologized for his remarks, Trump is doubling, tripling, quadrupling down on his:
The balls on this guy. https://t.co/hDq25USu4Z
— Aaron Gardner (@Aaron_RS) November 27, 2015
From The Hill:
“Donald J. Trump today demanded an apology from the failing New York Times which accused him (during a major speech before 10,000 people in Myrtle Beach, SC) of mocking a reporter’s physical disability when in fact, Mr. Trump does not know anything about the reporter or anything about what the reporter looks like,” the Trump campaign said in a statement on Thursday.
Our post was not meant to serve as a defense of Trump, but rather to report what he said/did and how the media are responding to him versus how they treated a sitting POTUS who made a joke at the expense of the disabled.