During a South Carolina rally in late November, while defending his bogus claim that Arab-Americans celebrated the 9/11 attacks in the streets of New Jersey, Donald Trump decided to impersonate New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski. It wasn’t the first time Trump had used the tactic to diminish his enemies, but it was the first time he did so to mock someone with a chronic disability. Kovaleski has a condition called arthrogryposis, which limits the movements of his limbs. Watch the clip of Trump’s performance, via CNN:
It didn’t tank his campaign, obviously, but it remains a negative, and a Hillary Clinton super PAC is running an ad focusing solely on the infamous moment.
Here’s the ad run by Priorities USA, which is pretty damn devastating:
Per the Times:
A husband and wife tell their story, side by side, of learning through an ultrasound that their daughter, Grace, would be born with spina bifida, a spinal condition. Images of young Grace flicker by — as a newborn in the hospital, sleeping near a cross, smiling and offering a hug from her wheelchair — while her parents tell of her loving personality: “She brings out the goodness in each person.”
Twenty seconds in, the mother shifts to Mr. Trump, saying, “When I saw Donald Trump mock a disabled person, I was just shocked.” A well-known clip plays in full of Mr. Trump imitating the journalist, a New York Times reporter who has a condition that limits the functioning of his joints. Then the mother offers a reproach: “The children at Grace’s school all know never to mock her. And so, for an adult to mock someone with a disability is shocking.” Visuals of Mr. Trump’s imitation are played again for good measure.
The Times notes that due to the repetition of the phrase “mocked someone with a disability,” the ad seems as though it was “taken right from a focus group response.” That’s not unlikely, and the ad will run for the next six weeks in Ohio, Virginia, Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa, Colorado, and Nevada—all swing states.
Republicans attempted to use the same clip against Trump, to no avail, but Clinton’s camp obviously believes it will be more effective in front of a broader and more diverse audience.