People are reminding Donald Trump of the time he turned his back on 'disgusting' dying man

Donald Trump has declared he would have run into the Florida school where gunman Nikolas Cruz shot 17 people dead, saying: “I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon.”

But the US president once boasted of how he refused to help an 80-year-old man who had fallen off a stage and hit his head at a charity dinner.

In a 2008 interview with Howard Stern, Trump described how he thought the man had died when he tumbled off the stage at the event at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

“And you know what I did? I said, ‘Oh my God, that’s disgusting,’ and I turned away,” said Trump.

“I couldn’t, you know, he was right in front of me and I turned away. I didn’t want to touch him. He’s bleeding all over the place, I felt terrible.”

Disgusting – Mr Trump branded officers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School “disgusting” for not tackling Nikolas Cruz (Pictures: AP)

The admission seems to contradict the President’s claims to governors that he would have run unarmed into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when Nikolas Cruz was shooting students

Branding deputies who did not tackle Cruz “frankly disgusting”, Mr Trump said: “You don’t know until you’re tested, but I think I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon, and I think most of the people in this room would have done that, too.”

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But his claims have been met by derision from many on social media, who highlighted previous examples of the President’s apparent cowardice.

Many referred to the fact that Mr Trump avoided being drafted to serve in the Vietnam War after developing bone spurs in both heels, with others pointing out his apparent fear of stairs.

Others cited an occasion where Mr Trump had been scared by an eagle, while some suggested he is afraid of holding press conferences and of being criticised.