Real estate mogul Donald Trump lashed out Sunday at his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination who blasted him for insinuating that Fox News’ Megyn Kelly had been menstruating during a tense exchange at Thursday night’s GOP debate in Cleveland.
“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever,” Mr. Trump, the GOP front-runner, told CNN late Friday, provoking an outcry among conservatives who said his comments were beyond the pale.
His comments got him disinvited from a GOP gathering in Atlanta hosted by the conservative RedState group.
Mr. Trump has said Ms. Kelly singled him out unfairly when she asked him about disparaging remarks he has made about women.
He doubled down in an interview Sunday with CNN, even after host Jake Tapper noted that conservatives were the ones blasting him, not “the women’s studies department at Oberlin” — a reference to the liberal arts college in Ohio.
Mr. Trump said he was trying to get off the topic when he spoke of blood from “wherever.”
“I’m a smart person,” he said.
“Who would make a statement like that?” he added. “Only a sick person would even think about it.”
The only female candidate in the Republican field, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, wasn’t buying it.
“They were completely inappropriate and offensive comments,” she told CNN, noting that she dealt with undue scrutiny as a woman in the corporate world.
Mr. Trump dismissed his critics as jealous of the attention he has been getting during the race. He noted that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a rival for the GOP nomination, had to clarify recent comments he made on women’s health issues.
Mr. Trump didn’t have much time for Ms. Fiorina, even though many she said won Thursday’s debate among second-tier candidates.
“Carly Fiorina, give me a break,” he said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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