Donald Trump is continuing to defend his remarks about Megyn Kelly following Thursday’s Republican presidential primary debate.
After Trump told CNN’s Don Lemon on Friday that Kelly had “blood coming out of her wherever,” Trump called in to CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday to say that criticism of his comment is off-base.
“I cherish women,” Trump told host Jake Tapper. “I want to help women.”
Trump dismissed the idea that his “blood” comment was referring to menstruation, instead claiming he was suggesting blood was coming out of Kelly’s ears and nose. “Only a deviant would say that what I said was what they were referring to,” he said. “You almost have to be sick to put that together.”
When Tapper asked Trump why some people have assumed that Trump was referencing menstruation, Trump asserted that most of the flak is coming from his opponents in the presidential race. “That’s a stupid question, Jake, in all due respect, because they’re running against me,” Trump said. “Some of them, like Carly [Fiorina], are very low in the polls.”
Tapper asked Trump about RedState’s Erick Erickson barring him from a Saturday event for his comment, with Trump replying by calling Erickson a “loser.” Trump added that he didn’t want to attend the event to begin with.
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Tapper also suggested to Trump that this latest controversy could hurt his campaign because Kelly is beloved among conservative voters.
“I have nothing against Megyn Kelly,” said Trump, pointing out that he didn’t appreciate Kelly’s question during the debate regarding his previous comments about women. “I think her question was extremely unfair to me — her whole questioning was unfair to me. When you say ‘beloved,’ on social media, I’m the one that’s beloved.”
Email: Ryan.Gajewski@THR.com
Twitter: @_RyanGajewski
