What exactly did Trump do at the 2015 rally involving Serge Kovaleski?
Executive summary
At a November 24, 2015 rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Donald Trump defended a disputed claim about people in New Jersey celebrating the 9/11 attacks and then launched into a vocal and physical imitation of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has arthrogryposis; the episode drew widespread criticism and prompted Trump's denial that he knew Kovaleski or intended to mock a disability [1] [2] [3]. Video and contemporary reporting show Trump flailing his arms and mimicking Kovaleski’s quoted hesitation—coverage across outlets described the action as an impersonation of the reporter’s physical mannerisms and a broader attempt to rebut Kovaleski’s comments about the original 2001 article [4] [5] [6].
1. The moment on stage: what Trump said and did
At the rally Trump repeated his claim that “thousands and thousands” had celebrated in Jersey City on 9/11, then accused Kovaleski of “backing away” from an earlier article and said, “You’ve got to see this guy,” before imitating Kovaleski’s voice—“Uhh, I don’t know what I said. Uhh, I don’t remember”—while flailing his arms and holding his right hand at an odd angle, an action multiple outlets captured on video and described in reporting [1] [4] [5].
2. Why reporters and newsrooms reacted sharply
The New York Times called the behavior “outrageous” and other outlets and journalists condemned the imitation as ridiculing a reporter with a chronic joint condition; contemporaneous coverage framed the act as mocking Kovaleski’s physical limitations rather than merely quoting his words [3] [2] [6].
3. Trump’s defense and the campaign’s explanation
After the backlash, Trump issued a statement saying he “has no idea who this reporter, Serge Kovaleski, is, what he looks like, or his level of intelligence,” and later argued his gesture was not aimed at a disability but at Kovaleski’s apparent retreat from his earlier reporting; he insisted he did not remember meeting Kovaleski [3] [7].
4. Kovaleski’s response and past interactions with Trump
Kovaleski said he had met and covered Trump in the late 1980s and that they had been on a first-name basis, disputing Trump’s claim of not knowing him; Kovaleski also stated he did not recall anyone saying there were “thousands, or even hundreds,” celebrating on 9/11, which was central to Trump’s criticism [8] [6].
5. The factual core: the disputed 2001 reporting
Trump cited a Washington Post report from September 2001 that mentioned “a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating,” and used that passage as evidence for his larger claim; Kovaleski and subsequent fact-checking coverage said the Post passage did not support the “thousands” claim and that allegations of mass celebrations in Jersey City were unsubstantiated [1] [7].
6. How fact‑checkers and analysts framed the incident
Fact-checking outlets and media analysts found evidence supporting that Trump’s onstage imitation targeted Kovaleski’s voice and physicality; some noted debate over intent—whether Trump was mocking a disability or merely imitating a reporter’s words—but the preponderance of contemporaneous reports described it as a physical mimicry of Kovaleski’s condition [9] [10] [4].
7. Broader implications: politics, disability, and performance
News coverage tied the moment to larger questions about political rhetoric, the ethics of mocking disabilities, and how a candidate’s stage performative style can amplify harm; disability‑rights commentators and many journalists used the episode to highlight how public figures’ mockery can stigmatize people with disabilities [11] [4].
8. Limits of the record and what available sources do not say
Available sources document the rally, the imitation, the video evidence, and competing statements from Trump and Kovaleski, but they do not provide definitive proof of Trump’s internal intent beyond his denials and public remarks; they also do not include any new medical assessment of Kovaleski beyond noting he has arthrogryposis [3] [8].
In sum: contemporaneous video and reporting show Trump performed a vocal-and-physical impersonation of Serge Kovaleski while disputing coverage of 9/11, prompting broad condemnation; Trump denied targeting a disability and claimed not to know the reporter, while Kovaleski and colleagues said they knew each other—leaving the episode documented but contested in motive and meaning [5] [3] [8].