Of all the offensive comments Donald Trump has made, of all the insults, or all the vulgar moments, there’s just something about his attack on Serge Kovaleski that stands out.
For anyone who’s forgotten the circumstances, Trump claimed he saw Muslim Americans in New Jersey celebrating on 9/11. He was lying, but he kept repeating the claim, pretending fact is fiction, prompting journalist Serge Kovaleski to explain that there is simply no proof to substantiate Trump’s bogus claim.
So, Trump mocked Kovaleski’s physical disability at a rally, raising uncomfortable questions about just what kind of person the Republican presidential candidate really is.
This morning, the GOP candidate talked to Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, once again denying his mockery of the reporter, but also making a specific claim about his own record:
“I spend millions of dollars making buildings good for people that are disabled. Millions and millions of dollars. Do you think I’d ever do a thing like that?”
At first blush, that might even sound persuasive. If Trump, a developer, has invested millions to make buildings more accessible to people with disabilities, maybe those investments are worthy of praise.
Except, there’s a small problem: Trump is boasting about something he’s required to do under the law. It’s called the Americans with Disabilities Act. Trump spending “millions and millions of dollars” wasn’t an act of magnanimity; it was compliance with federal requirements he couldn’t legally ignore.
Trump also put fire extinguishers in his buildings, but that doesn’t reflect a personal commitment to fire safety.
In fact, in December, the Daily Beast reported on Trump’s record of difficulties when it comes to ADA compliance.
His properties have been sued a number of times for violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act, including one instance where a man claimed that the buses to his Atlantic City casino were virtually impossible to access in a wheelchair. […]In the most egregious case, the U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene because the Trump Taj Mahal was nearly inaccessible for people with disabilities.In 2011, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey conducted a compliance review of Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. They discovered an extensive list of problems.
This is only a sampling; the article keeps going.
Maybe this is a subject Trump shouldn’t brag about?
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."