"Horrified."
That was Carly Fiorina’s take Sunday on how many women are reacting to Donald Trump’s insult of Fox News star Megyn Kelly.
Trump said that during Thursday’s Republican debate, Kelly had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever."
The real estate mogul, and Republican presidential front-runner, again defended those comments Sunday on four nationally televised talk shows.
But Fiorina, the only woman among the major Republican candidates, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that "I think women of all kinds are really sort of horrified by this."
Fiorina has been moving up among candidates since the debate. She was routinely lauded for her steely performance in the first debate, which included seven Republicans whose poll numbers were not strong enough to qualify for the prime-time debate.
Sunday, she questioned whether Trump has the temperament to be president. "I think you cannot have a president who is thin-skinned," the former business executive said. "If you think a question is tough, imagine the pressure of actually being in the Oval Office. And that's why I think, as crazy as this presidential campaign process is, it does in fact give voters a window into how people respond under pressure, over time."
Trump Sunday insisted his statement about Kelly was misconstrued. "Do you think I make a stupid statement like that? " he said to CNN’s”State of the Union.” "Who would make a statement like that? Only a sick person would even think about it."
Trump was more interested in going after Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida who Saturday criticized Trump for the comment.
Bush had his own controversy earlier in the week. Speaking in Nashville, he said, “I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues.” He had been criticizing federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
He later said he misspoke. His campaign issued a statement saying, “With regards to women’s health funding broadly, I misspoke, as there are countless community health centers, rural clinics, and other women’s health organizations that need to be fully funded. They provide critical services to all, but particularly low-income women who don’t have the access they need.”
Trump wasn’t satisfied. He called Bush’s initial remarks "disgraceful, frankly. And I think that will go down to haunt him.”
Trump insisted "I'm the exact opposite. I cherish women. I want to help women. I'm going to do things for women that no other candidate will be able to do. And it's very important to me.”
David Lightman: 202-383-6101, @lightmandavid