Yesterday, this young man was kicked out of a Trump rally. As he was leaving, people kicked at his wheelchair. Today, he met his President. pic.twitter.com/VI4g2tKANG
— Steve Schale (@steveschale) November 6, 2016
On Saturday J.J. Holmes, a 12-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, was kicked out of a Donald Trump rally in Tampa, Fla. On Sunday, Holmes and his mother, Alison, made the 70-mile trip to Kissimmee and were greeted by none other than President Obama.
J.J. and Alison attended the Trump rally in Tampa together, hoping to draw further attention to the Republican candidate’s mockery of the disabled. Mother and son — the latter through his text-to-voice software — chanted Hillary Clinton’s name, and were asked to leave by security, though not before the crowd began chanting “U-S-A!” and physically pushing the 12-year-old’s wheelchair. (According to Alison’s comments in the Washington Post, Trump himself joined in, repeatedly shouting “Get them out” from the stage.)
Earlier in the election, Trump came under fire for his crude imitation of a New York Times reporter who suffers from a physical disability. Trump has denied that he meant any offense to disabled people, citing the accommodations at his hotels and casinos, which are mandated by federal law under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to Talking Points Memo, a woman who witnessed the incident in Tampa made the necessary arrangements for the Holmeses to meet Obama at a Clinton rally in Kissimmee. The meeting, which followed Obama’s speech, was captured by photographers.
(Via Talking Points Memo & The Washington Post)
