When CNN debate moderator Jake Tapper asked Carly Fiorina to respond to Donald Trump’s comments last week, she didn’t take the full 45 seconds she was given. She didn’t need them.
Carly Fiorina’s mic-drop response to Donald Trump’s comment about her looks
Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images
"It's interesting to me," Fiorina said coolly, "Mr. Trump said that he heard Mr. Bush very clearly and what Mr. Bush said. I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said."
Fiorina was responding to a remark Trump made about her looks recently: “Look at that face!” Trump said. “Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president.”
In her response, Fiorina was speaking directly, and exclusively, to women. She doesn’t bother to explain to Trump, or anyone else, why it’s unfair that women are inevitably judged by their looks. She knows women already understand that. Her response didn’t use words like “offensive” or “unfair,” but in substance, it’s the sort of response you’re much more likely to hear from liberals than conservatives in the culture wars: I don’t need to tell you why this is offensive. You should figure it out on your own.
By Dara Lind and Caroline Framke
By Jonathan Allen
