Donald Trump might believe himself immune from the moral standards applied to mere mortals, but he got a shock this week when he tested that theory out by mocking a disabled journalist at a political rally.

Trump was speaking at a rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina when returned to his claim that “thousands and thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the 9/11 attacks.

New York Times journalist Sergei Kovalevski was one of the authors of a report cited by Trump in defense of his 9/11 claim. So when the reporter saw it being misused, he came forward with a simple and non-personal clarification of the facts. He told CNN:

“We did a lot of shoe leather reporting in and around Jersey City and talked to a lot of residents and officials for the broader story. Much of that has, indeed, faded from memory.

“I do not recall anyone saying there were thousands, or even hundreds, of people celebrating. That was not the case, as best as I can remember,”

An embarrassed Trump had clearly been stewing over being rumbled, and took his chance to fire back from South Carolina. His comeback? He mocked the journalist for having a disability.


Comment: Embarrassed? Not so sure that is possible.

While performing a ludicrous physical impersonation of disabled Kovalevski, he denounced the journalist. Twisting his hands inward and flailing his arms, he laughed:

“Now the poor guy. You ought to see the guy: ‘Err, I don’t know what I said. I don’t remember.’

“He’s going: ‘I don’t remember. Maybe that’s what I said.'” Implying that Kovalevski could not be relied upon to recall events due to his disability.

Kovalevski has arthrogryposis, a condition that affects the movement of limbs and other body parts. It has no impact on cognitive function.

But to Donald Trump, it is not a congenital condition, but a weakness to be exploited for political point-scoring and cheap laughs. The New York Times came out in strong defense of their journalist, with a spokesperson saying:

“We think it’s outrageous that he would ridicule the appearance of one of our reporters,”

Kovaleski told the Washington Post:

“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,”

The despicable behavior is being reported around the globe, with mainstream and social media voices attacking Trump for lowering his already gutter-level bar. Did Trump respond with a moment of realization? Um, no. He decided to hate-tweet the New York Times instead.

    

Bravo Donald, bravo. Just when we thought you could prove yourself no bigger a douchebag — you beat your personal best.