The Hoax
Trump Mocked A Disabled Person At A Campaign Rally In 2015
One of the most persistent accusations against former President Donald Trump is that he mocked a disabled reporter during a campaign rally. The incident, which occurred in November 2015, was widely reported and condemned.
What Really Happened
Trump Mocked A Disabled Reporter In The Same Way He Mocks Everyone
Did Trump mock a disabled reporter? Why, yes he did. But what the media doesn’t tell you is that the gesture Trump uses to mock the reporter is one he often uses to mock other people. In the rally in question, Trump was referencing Kovaleski’s retraction of a post-9/11 story and used his typical “flustered” gesture. Videos have surfaced showing Trump using the same gesture when speaking about other people, including himself, and others who are not disabled, as seen below. Trump literally treated the disabled reporter the same way he treats everyone else.
Hoaxology | How The Hoax Was Made
Here’s how this hoax was made.
Selective Photo Framing
Selective photo framing was used in the hoax claiming Trump mocked a disabled reporter during a 2015 rally by isolating a specific moment and image from the event. Media outlets circulated photos or video stills that captured Trump mid-gesture, with his hands contorted, seemingly mocking the reporter’s disability. This carefully chosen frame excluded the broader context of how Trump frequently uses similar gestures to mock others, disabled or not, when portraying someone as flustered or backtracking. By focusing on this single, decontextualized image, the media distorted the viewer’s perception, assigning the gesture a specific meaning—that Trump was mocking the reporter’s disability—while omitting the fact that Trump had used the same body language in unrelated instances. This selective framing gave the false impression of malice toward the reporter, which otherwise wouldn’t exist if the full context and other examples had been shown.
Selective Reporting
Many media outlets focused on the moment Trump mocked the reporter, Serge Kovaleski, without taking into consideration his history of mocking non-disabled people the exact same way. This selective presentation led many to believe Trump was specifically targeting Kovaleski’s disability.
Evidence of Media and Democrats Perpetuating the Hoax
Many prominent social media accounts, especially on X (formerly Twitter), created memes and spread the hoax.
You can read the full article here.
Featured image via screenshot.
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