Donald Trump has offended many groups of people along the way to becoming the Republican nominee for the White House, among them women, Mexicans, and Muslims.
But Trump has also shown an extraordinary insensitivity towards people living with disability.
Earlier this year, Trump was speaking at a political rally, where he appeared to mock ‘New York Times’ reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has a chronic condition called arthrogryposis which affects the movement of his arms.
At this week’s Democratic National Convention, the party found the best possible spokesperson to offer a rebuke to Trump’s disgusting mockery.
Anastasia Somoza is from New York, but her mother, Mary, hails from Dublin. Anastasia is a long-time disability rights advocate. She lives with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia, but that hasn’t stopped her from travelling the world to give voice to those in a similar boat to herself.
https://www.instagram.com/p/5VlBr9IKLE/?taken-by=tassisomoza
On Monday night, Anastasia addressed the Democrats’ convention, where she praised Hillary Clinton, whom she first met a child while Clinton was US First Lady.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIP1YH6AyxM/
But Anastasia also laid into Donald Trump for his ignorance. She said:
“I fear the day we elect a president who defines being an American in the narrowest possible terms, who shouts, bullies, and profits off of the vulnerable Americans.
“Donald Trump has shown us who he really is, and I honestly feel sorry for anyone with that much hate in their heart.
“I know we will show each other, and the world, who we really are in November – when we choose genuine strength and thoughtful leadership – over fear and division. Donald Trump doesn’t see me, he doesn’t hear me, and he definitely doesn’t speak for me.”
Met @CoryBooker at the #DNCinPHL , as amazing as I thought he'd be! pic.twitter.com/tqR35zDXqa
— Anastasia Somoza (@AnastasiaSomoza) July 26, 2016
Watch the full video of Anastasia’s speech here:
Fans of comedian and actress Amy Poehler might remember a chapter in her book, Yes Please, where she issues a public apology for a Saturday Night Live sketch about disabled twins that, inadvertently, appeared to mock Anastasia and her twin sister, Alba.
Poehler later apologised to Anastasia, and the two have since become friends.
https://www.instagram.com/p/9Zv6-UoKBY/?taken-by=tassisomoza
H/T to the boys at JOE.ie for bringing this to our attention.
