Donald Trump has always attracted attention for his controversial comments, but his public utterances in the five months following the announcement he would run for presidency have become increasingly outlandish even by his standards.
But while his suggestion that America’s borders should be closed to Muslims appears to have eclipsed them all, even fleeting scrutiny of the 69-year-old Republican's catalogue of contentious statements since June indicate no one should be that surprised by his latest spoutings.
On Mexican immigrants:
"They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists" - at his campaign launch, Trump Tower, New York City
On Senator John McCain, former Vietnam PoW:
"I like people who weren’t captured" – at the 2015 Family Leadership Summit in Iowa
On Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly:
"She had blood coming out of her whatever" – following the first Republican debate, which Kelly moderated
On Planned Parenthood:
"It is like an abortion factory, which is terrible" – interview with conservative radio host Laura Ingraham
On Carly Fiorina:
"Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!" – interview with Rolling Stone
On George W Bush:
"Say what you want, the World Trade Centre came down during his time’ – interview with Bloomberg
On Ben Carson’s temper:
"You don’t cure these people. You don’t cure a child molester... Pathological, there’s no cure for that" – interview with CNN
On Hillary Clinton:
"She’s playing the woman card up, that’s all she has. Honestly, outside of the woman card, she’s got nothing going, believe me" – campaign rally in Iowa
On New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski:
"You’ve got to see this guy, 'Ah, I don’t know what I said!'" - jerking his arms in what many interpreted as him mocking Mr Kovaleski’s disability, at a rally in South Carolina
On Muslims:
"Complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on" – Trump Campaign press release
On the media:
"Absolute dishonest, absolute scum. They’re totally dishonest" – pointing out reporters at a rally in South Carolina
