Trump denies mocking disabled reporter, demands apology

  • The Washington Post A day after he was widely rebuked for mocking a reporter with a physical disability, business mogul and reality TV star D
  • Thursday, November 26, 2015 6:04pm
  • Local NewsNation / world

Trump also demanded an apology from the reporter’s employer, the New York Times, which earlier in the week issued a statement condemning Trump for ridiculing “the appearance of one of our reporters.”

The incident occurred Tuesday at a rally in South Carolina, as Trump was defending his recent claim that he had witnessed thousands of Muslims cheering in New Jersey on Sept. 11, 2001, as the World Trade Center towers collapsed. On stage, Trump berated Times investigative reporter Serge Kovaleski for his recent recollection of an article he wrote a few days after the attacks, which Trump has been citing to defend his claim.

Trump appeared to mock Kovaleski’s physical condition; the reporter has arthrogryposis, which visibly limits flexibility in his arms.

“Now, the poor guy – you’ve got to see this guy, ‘Ah, I don’t know what I said! I don’t remember!’ “ Trump said as he jerked his arms in front of his body.

Trump’s assertions about Muslims celebrating in 2001 have been fact-checked and discredited by law enforcement and government officials who were in New Jersey in the days and weeks after the terrorist attacks.

Trump has defended his recollections by citing a 2001 article by Kovaleski, who worked for The Washington Post at the time and wrote that “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.”

Those allegations were never corroborated but have persisted in online rumors in the 14 years since the attacks. In an interview on CNN this week, Kovaleski said he did not recall “anyone saying there were thousands, or even hundreds, of people celebrating.”

That is the statement that apparently drew Trump’s ire on Tuesday.

“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,” said Kovaleski, who frequently covered Trump while reporting for the New York Daily News between 1987 and 1993.

In a statement Thursday, Trump adamantly denied that his comments or gestures were meant to mock Kovaleski. He also denied remembering Kovaleski at all – “despite having one of the all-time great memories.”

“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,” Trump said. “He should stop using his disability to grandstand and get back to reporting for a paper that is rapidly going down the tubes.”

Kovaleski said in an interview this week that he’s sure Trump remembers him – and his disability. Trump indicated as much himself in the speech Tuesday, when he said, before he began an apparent impersonation with a series of jerking arm movements, that the article had been “written by a nice reporter.”

In his statement Thursday, Trump said: “I have no idea who this reporter, Serge Kovalski (sic) is, what he looks like or his level of intelligence. I don’t know if he is J.J. Watt or Muhammad Ali in his prime – or somebody of less athletic or physical ability. Despite having one of the all-time great memories I certainly do not remember him.”

Trump added that he thought Kovaleski’s recollections about his 2001 article “seemed like (again without knowing what he looks like) he was groveling and searching for a way out from what he wrote many years before.”

In Kovaleski’s comments to CNN and other news organizations, he pointed out that there were never any reports of thousands or even hundreds of Muslims celebrating, as Trump has claimed to have witnessed. Kovaleski never contradicted the 14-year-old article.

Kovaleski’s friends and colleagues took to social media this week to excoriate Trump.

“The measure of men. Know this: Serge Kovaleski, aka sergenyt, is a journalistic rock star and one great colleague,” wrote Times reporter Dan Barry on Twitter.

“sergenyt is one of the best reporters – and best people- I know. This is despicable,” ESPN reporter and author Don Van Natta Jr. wrote.

Trump took specific aim at the New York Times in his statement Thursday.

“They should focus on the survival of their newspaper and not on dishonest and very bad reporting about me,” he said. “The New York Times has become more and more irrelevant and rapidly becoming a total joke – sad!”

A New York Times spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.