International Paralympics Committee berates Donald Trump for saying games are 'tough to watch'

US president 'makes a mockery of himself yet again', says Miami Beach mayor

Donald Trump has been criticised by the Paralympics governing body for suggesting the games were “hard to watch”.

The US President made the remarks while surrounded by athletes at a ceremony celebrating the Olympic and Paralympic games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

“What happened with the Paralympics was so incredible and so inspiring to me,” he said.

“And I watched — it’s a little tough to watch too much, but I watched as much as I could.”

Mr Trump did not clarify his comments, but they sparked backlash online.

“Record numbers of people around the world are not finding @Paralympics tough to watch,” the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said in a Twitter post.

“Billions of viewers now take in the Paralympics in hundreds of countries around the world. We hope the US President continues to watch and be inspired by the Paralympics.”

Democrat Philip Levine, the mayor of Miami Beach, Florida, tweeted that the US president had made “a mockery of himself and his office yet again by insulting the disabled men and women of this country”.

He added: “The only thing touch to watch is your presidency."

Several US athletes had boycotted the event, citing political differences with the president, including figure skater Adam Rippon, the first openly gay US winter Olympian.

“I will not stand with people who discriminate against those that they perceive as different,” the ice skater said in a Twitter post.

Mr Trump came under fire in 2016 for appearing to mock disabled New York Times journalist, Serge Kovaleski .

Speaking at a campaign rally, Mr Trump jerked his arms around and said: “Now, the poor guy — you’ve got to see this guy, ‘Ah, I don’t know what I said! I don’t remember!’ ”

Mr Trump later said he did not remember having ever met Mr Kovaleski, who has Arthrogryposis, a congenital condition affecting the joints.

But the journalist said he met with Mr Trump repeatedly when he was a reporter for The New York Daily News between 1987 and 1993.

In January 2017, the President attempted to draw a line under the issue, saying in two tweets: “For the 100th time, I never ‘mocked’ a disabled reporter (would never do that) but simply showed him ’grovelling when he totally changed a 16 year old story that he had written in order to make me look bad.”