Trump walking past the child in the wheelchair is an apt metaphor of how WH has treated the disability community pic.twitter.com/SbwCeF40ug
@donmoyn
J.K. Rowling just proved she's a mere mortal.
The "Harry Potter" author went off on President Donald Trump Friday in a series of tweets complaining about a video that makes it look like he snubbed a young boy in a wheelchair.
Problem is, she didn't see the full video.
Mario Cantone's Anthony Scaramucci Is Making Comedy Central Great Again
View Story"Trump imitated a disabled reporter. Now he pretends not to see a child in a wheelchair, as though frightened he might catch his condition," Rowling tweeted about the clip (above). "This monster of narcissism values only himself and his pale reflections. The disabled, minorities, transgender people, the poor, women (unless related to him by ties of blood, and therefore his creations) are treated with contempt, because they do not resemble Trump."
"My mother used a wheelchair. I witnessed people uncomfortable around her disability, but if they had a shred of decency they got over it," she continued. "So, yes, that clip of Trump looking deliberately over a disabled child's head, ignoring his outstretched hand, has touched me on the raw. That man occupies the most powerful office in the free world and his daily outrages against civilised norms are having a corrosive effect. How stunning, and how horrible, that Trump cannot bring himself to shake the hand of a small boy who only wanted to touch the President."
In the clip that sparked Rowling's reaction, Trump appeared to ignore the attempts of the young boy to shake the president's hand, but the clip is actually only one part of a much longer video that shows Trump addressing the boy upon first entering the room. Fast forward to 2:20 and you'll see Trump actually bent down and exchanged some words with the boy who seemed rather happy with the interaction.
Mario Cantone's Anthony Scaramucci Is Making Comedy Central Great Again
View StoryRowling probably could have done a little more research before pouncing on Trump for this particular incident, but then again, he's earned himself quite the reputation in the short time he's been in politics.
During his campaign, the then-presidential candidate made headlines when he mocked a 12-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, who attended a rally in protest of Trump's previous mockery of a disabled reporter.
Trump was also accused of snubbing wheelchair-bound former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole after leaving his swearing-in ceremony.
And as recently as June of this year, wheelchair users protesting the Republican health care bill that would repeal and replace Obamacare were dragged away from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office by Capitol police.
See all of Rowling's tweets below.
'When someone shows you who they are, believe them.' - Maya Angelou https://t.co/Op6HUrRo80
@jk_rowling
Trump imitated a disabled reporter. Now he pretends not to see a child in a wheelchair, as though frightened he might catch his condition.
@jk_rowling
This monster of narcissism values only himself and his pale reflections. The disabled, minorities, transgender people, the poor, women
@jk_rowling
(unless related to him by ties of blood, and therefore his creations) are treated with contempt, because they do not resemble Trump.
@jk_rowling
My mother used a wheelchair. I witnessed people uncomfortable around her disability, but if they had a shred of decency they got over it. 1/
@jk_rowling
So, yes, that clip of Trump looking deliberately over a disabled child's head, ignoring his outstretched hand, has touched me on the raw. /2
@jk_rowling
That man occupies the most powerful office in the free world and his daily outrages against civilised norms are having a corrosive effect /3
@jk_rowling
How stunning, and how horrible, that Trump cannot bring himself to shake the hand of a small boy who only wanted to touch the President. /4x
@jk_rowling