Real estate magnate Donald Trump refused to back down Sunday from comments about a Fox News host that were widely panned as sexist, as his roller-coaster campaign careered to uncomfortable heights amid a Republican presidential field clamoring for order and credibility.
Mr. Trump accused his GOP foes of flailing on women’s issues and fearing his position at the top of many polls, and forged ahead with trademark bluster even as his rivals for the 2016 nomination painted him as a sideshow unworthy of their constant attention.
“I will be phenomenal to the women,” he told “Face the Nation” on CBS, noting that he has hired and promoted thousands of women in his business ventures.
The former reality TV star has spared little breath in attacking politicos both inside and outside the race, calling them “losers” and “lightweights,” and offering adjective-laden praise for his own record as a business leader.
This weekend, he raised eyebrows by insinuating that debate moderator Megyn Kelly singled him out for tough questioning Thursday night because she was menstruating.
“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever,” he told CNN late Friday.
While Mr. Trump said his comments were “totally appropriate” and misconstrued, the attack got him disinvited from a GOP gathering in Atlanta hosted by the conservative RedState group.
The latest ripple comes as the Republican Party tries to attract women voters, particularly as former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton positions herself as the likely Democratic nominee.
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, the only woman in the crowded GOP field, fired back at his comments Sunday.
“They were completely inappropriate and offensive comments, period,” she told CNN’s State of the Union.
Ms. Fiorina said has been subjected to undue scrutiny in the male-dominated worlds of business and politics, quipping that at least one male politician has grappled with hormones while in office — an obvious reference to former President Bill Clinton.
Another Republican contender, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, responded to Mr. Trump by calling for a moratorium on name-calling.
“I don’t think we should reward vulgarity. I don’t think vulgarity equates to insight,” he told Fox News Sunday. “And so, because you can shout and call people names and call someone stupid or call someone fat, is that really what we’re going to make the decision on for who is going to be our nominee?”
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was equally critical of Mr. Trump over the weekend, saying “Come on do we want to win? Do we want to insult 53 percent of all voters?”
Yet Mr. Trump appeared to relish the new attention, however ignominious, as he pleaded innocence in his “blood” remarks and deflected criticism by saying “only a deviant” would think he was talking about menstruation.
“Do you think I would make a stupid statement like that? Who would make a statement like that? Only a sick person would even think about it,” he told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Appearing on four major networks — but not the one he’s feuding with, Fox — Mr. Trump said critics are jealous of the attention he has been getting in the race. He said he hires and promotes thousands of women and that other candidates could learn from him.
The real estate mogul pointed out that Mr. Bush had to issue a clarification after saying at a conservative forum that he wasn’t sure “we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues.”
“The point I was making was that we must address the hard-to-fathom $500 million in federal funding that goes to Planned Parenthood — an organization that was callously participating in the unthinkable practice of selling fetal organs,” Mr. Bush said later.
Republican leaders are making an aggressive push to investigate and defund the organization following a series of edited videos seemingly showing Planned Parenthood employees haggling over the sale of fetal body parts.
Every GOP presidential candidate appears eager to cut off the organization from federal assistance, saying the issue cuts across party lines. And now, many of them seem ready to dump Mr. Trump (even if they aren’t saying so directly) as they fend off Democrats who say the GOP is waging a “war on women.”
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who received a warm reception at Thursday’s debate in Cleveland, said Sunday he hires plenty of women, and they often do a better job than men. But he declined to opine about Mr. Trump’s comment during an interview with CNN.
“Why am I spending my time talking about something negative?” Mr. Kasich said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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