By November 2015, Donald Trump's presidential campaign had already demonstrated an unusual ability to survive controversies that might have seriously damaged a more conventional candidate.
Then came an incident involving New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski.
On November 24, 2015, Trump was speaking at a campaign rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, when he discussed Kovaleski, a veteran journalist who has arthrogryposis, a congenital condition that restricts movement in his arms.
As Trump impersonated the reporter, he moved his arms while portraying Kovaleski as struggling to remember what he had previously reported.
The images spread rapidly.
Critics accused Trump of mocking a reporter's disability.
Trump strongly denied that was what he was doing.
It Started With Trump's Claims About September 11
The controversy had its roots in another dispute.
Trump had claimed that he remembered seeing large numbers of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating as the World Trade Center was destroyed on September 11, 2001.
He said:
“I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering.”
The claim was challenged by journalists and public officials.
Trump responded by pointing to a Washington Post article published shortly after the attacks.
One of the reporters who wrote that article was Serge Kovaleski.
What Kovaleski's Article Actually Said
The September 2001 Washington Post article reported that authorities had detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding rooftop gatherings while watching the destruction across the Hudson River.
That was considerably different from Trump's claim that he had personally watched “thousands and thousands” of people celebrating.
Fourteen years later, Kovaleski was asked about his old reporting.
He said he did not remember anyone reporting that thousands — or even hundreds — of people had celebrated.
Trump seized on the response.
“You've Got to See This Guy”
During the November 24 rally, Trump discussed Kovaleski's recollection of the old article.
Trump referred to him as a reporter who was now backing away from what he had written.
Then Trump began an imitation.
“Now, the poor guy — you've got to see this guy.”
Trump moved his arms while impersonating Kovaleski as saying that he couldn't remember exactly what he had reported.
Video of the moment quickly circulated through television news and social media.
There was an obvious complication.
Serge Kovaleski has a physical disability affecting the movement of his arms.
The New York Times condemned Trump's performance, saying it was outrageous for him to ridicule the appearance of one of its reporters.
Kovaleski also criticized Trump.
Trump Says He Wasn't Mocking the Disability
Trump denied that interpretation.
He said he had not been imitating Kovaleski's physical condition.
Trump maintained that he didn't know what Kovaleski looked like and didn't remember meeting him.
According to Trump, his movements were intended to portray a reporter who was “groveling” while attempting to distance himself from an old story.
Trump insisted that he would never mock someone because of a disability.
Instead of apologizing, he demanded an apology from The New York Times.
Kovaleski Disputes Trump's Explanation
Kovaleski challenged an important part of Trump's defense.
Trump said he didn't remember him.
Kovaleski said the two men had known each other professionally for years.
Before joining The New York Times, Kovaleski had worked for the New York Daily News and covered Trump extensively during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Kovaleski said that he and Trump had been on a first-name basis and had interacted numerous times through interviews, press conferences and Trump's business activities.
That left two sharply different accounts.
Trump said he didn't remember Kovaleski and wasn't imitating his disability.
Kovaleski said Trump knew him personally from years of previous reporting.
Another Controversy That Didn't Stop Trump
The incident generated widespread criticism.
But by this point in the campaign, the pattern was familiar.
Trump made a controversial statement or gesture.
The resulting criticism dominated political coverage.
Trump denied or disputed his critics' interpretation.
Rather than retreating, he frequently attacked the news organization or individual criticizing him.
Then the campaign continued.
The Kovaleski controversy followed that pattern.
Trump didn't apologize.
He continued defending his account of what happened.
And he remained a leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.
Two Disputes Became One
The episode is also important because the controversy over Kovaleski can easily obscure why Trump was talking about him in the first place.
Trump was attempting to defend his claim about Muslims celebrating in New Jersey after the September 11 attacks.
The 2001 Washington Post article did report allegations involving a number of people.
But it did not report that thousands of people had celebrated.
Kovaleski said years later that he couldn't remember reporting anything remotely approaching that scale.
Trump portrayed that response as the reporter backing away from his original reporting.
Kovaleski maintained that he had done no such thing.
The two disputes became intertwined.
One concerned what happened in New Jersey after September 11.
The other concerned what Donald Trump did with his arms on a stage in South Carolina fourteen years later.
An Image That Followed Trump
The video didn't disappear when the campaign moved on.
It resurfaced repeatedly during the 2016 election and afterward whenever Trump's treatment of opponents, journalists or people with disabilities became a subject of debate.
Trump continued to deny that he had mocked Kovaleski's disability.
His critics continued to point to the video and Kovaleski's account of their previous interactions.
For a presidential campaign already defined by confrontations with politicians, corporations and journalists, the Serge Kovaleski controversy became one of the most recognizable moments of Trump's first run for the White House.