Rep. Waters brings photo of Trump mocking disabled reporter to House floor

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) drew attention on Thursday for her use of a prop on the House floor: a photo of President Trump mocking a disabled reporter during the 2016 campaign.

Waters spoke next to the enlarged photo as she commemorated the 27th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act a day earlier.

“It is a day to reflect on how people with disabilities are treated in our society,” Waters began.

{mosads}”Our president indicated to us what he thinks about people with disabilities long before he was elected, when he mocked a disabled reporter. Mocking the disabled is rude and insensitive and it sends a terrible message to our children.”

Waters originally planned to speak next to a photo of Trump mocking the disabled reporter that had a CNN chyron explaining his remarks. But the House presiding officer instructed Waters to use a different poster, which was an otherwise identical photo without any caption.

“Would you tell us why?” Waters inquired.

“It’s the determination of the chair that it’s a breach of the decorum of the House,” the presiding officer replied.

Trump has denied that he was mocking the reporter, Serge Kovaleski of the New York Times, who has a cogenital joint disorder. 

“I was never mocking anyone,” Trump told the New York Times in January. “I was calling into question a reporter who had gotten nervous because he had changed his story.”