Donald
Trump imitated Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who is disabled
Presidential
candidate flailed his arms around his head and put on a voice
Kovaleski
has chronic condition that affects his ability to move his arms
Pulitzer
Prize-winning journalist wrote an article in 2001 that said police questioned a
number of people allegedly celebrating 9/11 attacks
Trump
has said he saw 'thousands of people' celebrating in New Jersey
Trump's claims were debunked, he said he had based his statements on an article Kovaleski wrote fourteen years ago for the Washington Post.
However, Kovaleski said that he wrote reports of 'a number of people...allegedly' celebrating in New Jersey, but that he never actually saw these revelers and that he has no idea where Trump got the number in the thousands.
Instead of admitting he had gotten the statement wrong, Trump went on the offensive against Kovaleski on Wednesday, mocking the reporter's physical condition that impacts his ability to move his arms.
In a campaign stop in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Trump laid into the journalist, doing an impression that saw him flail his arms while putting on a strange voice.
Before the distasteful imitation, Trump said the story was 'written by a nice reporter'.
But he continued: 'Now the poor guy, you gotta see this guy: "Uh, I don’t know what I said. I don’t remember." He’s going, "I don’t remember. Maybe that’s what I said."'
Kovaleski, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who now works for the New York Times, was born with arthrogryposis.
The condition can cause sufferers' joints to get stuck in one position and can also see people born with weaker or missing muscles.
When Trump started to receive backlash for the imitation, his spokesman refused to issue a comment to the Washington Post.
But sources in the campaign, speaking on anonymity, told the Post that Trump was 'not aware of any condition and was not mocking his physical appearance in any way.'
Kovaleski, who covered Trump when he worked for the New York Daily News in the late 80s and early 90s, said he's certain the candidate remembers him and his condition.
'The sad part about it is, it didn’t in the slightest bit jar or surprise me that Donald Trump would do something this low-rent, given his track record,' Kovaleski told the Post .
A spokeswoman for the Times said: 'We think it's outrageous that he would ridicule the appearance of one of our reporters.'
Kovaleski's colleagues at other publications also jumped to his defense.
ESPN reporter Don Van Natta JR tweeted that Kovaleski 'is one of the best reporters - and best people- that I know' and called Trump's impression 'despicable'.
'The measure of men. Know this: Serge Kovaleski...is a journalistic rock star and one great colleague,' Times reporter Dan Barry tweeted.
A petition calling on the Republican front-runner to apologize has also been circulating online.
That prospect looks somewhat unlikely, however, with Trump taking to Twitter to blast the New York Times for taking 'constant hits' at him in what was a thinly veiled swipe at their response to his impression.
He wrote: 'The failing @nytimes should be focused on good reporting and the papers financial survival and not with constant hits on Donald Trump!'
Unreliable source: Trump tweeted an array of articles he claims support his view, including one by conspiracy theory website Infowars
Trump took to Twitter to blast the New York Times for taking 'constant hits' at him in what was a thinly-veiled swipe at their response to his impression
Trump also tweeted an array of articles he claims support his view that there were thousands of Arabs celebrating the September 11 attacks in New Jersey.
Kovaleski, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who now works for the New York Times, was born with arthrogryposis, which affects the movement of his arms
However among these was a link to conspiracy theory website Infowars, which is run by Alex Jones - known for his bizarre statements on 9/11 and the moon landings.
The person who wrote the article claims they saw 'a pocket' of people in 'traditional Muslim garb dancing, jumping, shouting and celebrating like their team had won the Super Bowl, just as Trump said'.
There is no evidence to substantiate the claim.
Back in 2001, a week after the attacks, Kovaleski wrote: 'Law enforcement authorities detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops while they watched the devastation on the other side of the river.'
He told CNN this week: 'I do not recall anyone saying there were thousands, or even hundreds, of people celebrating.'
Trump said last week during a campaign stop in Birmingham, Alabama, that he saw 'thousands of people cheering' as the World Trade Center collapsed.
He repeated his claims on ABC on Sunday, saying: 'There were people that were cheering on the other side of New Jersey, where you have large Arab populations. They were cheering as the World Trade Center came down.'
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