TRUMP: 'I will be phenomenal to the women'
"I would be the best for women, the best for women's health issues," Trump declared during a Monday interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
The Republican businessman is facing a storm of criticism over his allegedly sexist comments about Fox News host Megyn Kelly, but he contended Sunday and Monday that it is actually former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) who will have a problem with outreach to women in the presidential race.
Bush gaffed and said he "misspoke" last Tuesday when he stated he was "not sure we need half-billion dollars for women's health issues" before reversing himself and saying he was only referring to funding for the Planned Parenthood organization.
"I'm exactly the opposite. I will be phenomenal to the women," Trump said of Bush during a Sunday interview. "I want to help women. What Jeb Bush said last week I thought was totally out of order. Then he came back a day later and he said, 'Oh, I misspoke' - well that's an awfully bad thing to misspeak about. I just don't think you misspeak that way. So I thought what he did was terrible."
Bush is one of several Republican leaders who have criticized Trump for an interview last Friday in which the real-estate developer used an allegedly lewd comment to insult Kelly. Trump accused Kelly of asking unfair questions during last week's presidential debate, including a particularly charged inquiry that featured her confronting Trump with disparaging remarks he's made about women.
"There was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her - wherever," Trump recalled of Kelly on CNN.
In response to the CNN interview, Trump was disinvited from the influential conservative RedState Gathering event over the weekend. RedState's Erick Erickson said he had crossed the line of acceptability.
"His comment was inappropriate. It is unfortunate to have to disinvite him. But I just don't want someone on stage who gets a hostile question from a lady and his first inclination is to imply it was hormonal. It just was wrong," Erickson explained.
Trump insists he was not referring to anything inappropriate with his off-the-cuff comment about Kelly, but that has done little to satisfy his critics.
"Come on. Give me a break. ... What Donald Trump said is wrong," Bush said while speaking Saturday at the RedState event. "Your decision, I think, was the right one. Mr. Trump ought to apologize."