Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said at Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate that 2016 rival Carly Fiorina is a “beautiful woman,” in the wake of comments he made about her face in a recent magazine interview.
But Mrs. Fiorina said Thursday that “it’s still different for women.”
“It’s only a woman whose appearance would be talked about while running for president — never a man. And I think that’s what women understand,” she said on CNN’s “New Day.”
“That’s why women understood what Donald Trump said about my face in the first place and also what he said about my face in the second place,” she said. “The point is, women are half this nation. Women are half the potential of this nation. But somehow we still spend a lot of time talking about women’s appearance instead of their qualifications.”
In the recent Rolling Stone article, Mr. Trump said of Mrs. Fiorina: “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!”
“I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not s’posed ta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?” he said in the piece.
Mr. Trump later said he was referring to Mrs. Fiorina’s persona.
But she said at Wednesday’s debate, to applause: “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.”
“I think she’s got a beautiful face, and I think she’s a beautiful woman,” Mr. Trump said in response, then turning toward a stone-faced Mrs. Fiorina.
During a back-and-forth at Wednesday’s debate with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mr. Trump said he hasn’t attacked Mr. Paul’s appearance — though he said he could.
“I never attacked him on his look and believe me, there’s plenty of subject matter right there,” Mr. Trump said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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