Trump leaves apology voice mail for man he fat-shamed at rally, White House says

Donald Trump has called and apologised to the man he fat-shamed during his New Hampshire rally, after realising the individual was a supporter instead of a protester.

The apology was left on the man's voicemail, a White House official told CNN, shortly after Mr Trump singled him out during the re-election rally.

Another accounting of the phone call, from a New York Times reporter who spoke to a White house official, indicated Mr Trump said on the voicemail that he was the president, and that he had intended to fat-shame someone else at the rally.

"That guy has a serious weight problem. Go home, start exercising!" Mr Trump said on Thursday during the rally.

He continued: "Get him out of here please. Got a bigger problem than I do. Got a bigger problem than all of us.”

The individual Mr Trump was heckling was originally reported to be a protester, but a reporter on the scene from Bloomberg News cast doubt on that theory. That reporter said the protesters who initially interrupted the rally were thin, and that a larger supporter who was a "big, broad-shouldered" man had likely been the focus of the president's ire.

The White House has not responded to a request for confirmation about the apology.