Opinion

Donald Trump goes too far

The billionaire businessman Donald Trump has emerged as an unlikely but increasingly serious contender in the race to secure the Republican nomination for next year's US presidential election.

He is fully entitled to present himself as an aggressively anti-establishment campaigner who rejects any suggestion of political correctness and regularly denounces the media, but his latest stunt in mocking a disabled New York Times journalist was unacceptable in every way.

The candidate performed an impression of Serge Kovaleski, who suffers from a congenital joint condition, waving his arms in the air at an odd angle, and telling his audience; `You gotta see this guy.'

It was not the behaviour which could ever be associated with someone who aspires to hold public office in a civilised country, and Mr Trump needs not just to offer an unreserved apology but indicate a change of attitude towards the most vulnerable sections of society.