Donald Trump under fire for mocking disabled reporter

Republican presidential contender Donald Trump has been criticised for mocking a disabled New York Times reporter. Mr Trump performed an impression of Serge Kovaleski, who suffers from a congenital joint condition, at a rally.

He has used a 2001 article by Mr Kovaleski to back up widely disputed claims that "thousands" of Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the 9/11 attacks.The New York Times called Mr Trump's actions "outrageous".

Referring to the 2001 article (published by the Washington Post) at a South Carolina rally on Tuesday night, Mr Trump called Mr Kovaleski "a nice reporter".

"Now the poor guy, you gotta see this guy," he continued, before launching into an apparent impression of Mr Kovaleski, waving his arms around with his hands at an odd angle.

"Uhh I don't know what I said. Uhh I don't remember. He's going like 'I don't remember. Maybe that's what I said.'"

Mr Kovaleski has arthrogryposis, a condition that affects the movement of joints and is noticeable in his right arm and hand.

A New York Times spokeswoman told news site Politico: "We think it's outrageous that he would ridicule the appearance of one of our reporters,"

The original Washington Post article by Mr Kovaleski said that authorities in Jersey City "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".

Since Trump's claims about Muslim Americans celebrating 9/11, the reporter has said he does "not recall anyone saying there were thousands, or even hundreds, of people celebrating".