WASHINGTON — Here’s Grace, a sweetly smiling little girl in a wheelchair. Now here’s her mother, Lauren Glaros: “When I saw Donald Trump mock a disabled person, I was just shocked,“ she says. Then we see Trump, his hands jerking in front of his body as he imitates a reporter who has a condition that limits his arm movement.
To the Democrats, it’s a picture worth a thousand commercials.
That’s why two versions of the advertisement called “Grace “ have been on television more than almost any other at this early stage of the general election campaign. They’ve appeared some 7,200 times in 10 states across the country, with the heaviest concentration in the always-hard-fought presidential battlegrounds of Florida and Ohio, an analysis from Kantar Media’s campaign advertising tracker shows.
The commercials are paid for by Priorities USA, a “super” political-action committee dedicated to helping elect Hillary Clinton. Only a Clinton campaign advertisement about the former first lady’s work to expand children’s health care has aired more since mid-May, when general election ads began hitting the air.
Even among Trump’s many controversial statements — Clinton aides see them as an embarrassment of riches — the footage of him appearing to mock a disabled reporter stands out, evoking one of the strongest reactions from voters in focus groups and other forums.
“Everything in our research showed people found that clip very disturbing, and how could they not? It’s the Republican nominee for president of the United States making fun of disabled people on national television,“ said Justin Barasky, a spokesman for Priorities USA.
The footage comes from a Trump campaign rally in November in South Carolina. On stage, he acts out his impression of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who had disputed Trump’s claim about “thousands“ of people celebrating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
