Donald Trump on Tuesday called an American journalist “a sleaze” during a combative press conference in which he defended his record on supporting veterans, saying he raised $5.6 million for charities on the campaign trail.
“You’re a sleaze,” said the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, pointing to a journalist who he said was from news network ABC, “because you know the facts and you know the facts well.”
Trump called the political press “among the most dishonest people I have ever met,” and criticised media coverage of his presidential campaign in general and his appearance at a veterans biker rally on Sunday.
The New York real estate tycoon annihilated more than a dozen rivals in the race to sew up the Republican nomination for the White House and is trailing Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton by just a few percentage points in recent polls ahead of November’s general election.
The Republican presidential candidate had earlier “appeared to mock” a New York Times reporter with a disability.
At issue is what the New York Times interprets as Trump’s attempt to “ridicule the appearance” of journalist Serge Kovaleski.
Trump challenged recollections by Kovaleski and others about the 9/11 aftermath during a speech, having made unsubstantiated claims that thousands of Muslims in New Jersey were seen “celebrating the attack”.
Trump, whose voice took a mocking tone, said, “Poor guy, you ought’a see this guy,” then gestured in a jerky fashion as if imitating Kovaleski’s movements.
The Times expressed outrage afterward that Trump would “ridicule the appearance of one of our reporters.”
