Hours before polls close in New Hampshire, a network correspondent finally asked Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, why he called fellow Republican candidate Ted Cruz a "pussy."
In the interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, Trump said he had not chosen the word — he was merely echoing a supporter.
"It wasn't my word, it was a word that a woman kept shouting," he said. "I only repeated the word."
This is a classic deflection from the Trump playbook. During his feud with Megyn Kelly, Trump repeatedly retweeted his supporters who called the Fox News anchor a "bimbo," though he never uttered the word himself. Still, the intention was clearly there.
When Holt protested that the insult was not befitting a president, Trump went further, suggesting he would change course if he were elected.
"I'll tell you what," he said. "When you're president, or if you're about to be president, you would act differently."
Why he would behave in one manner while campaigning for a job that required an entirely different manner is not clear. But it shows that even Trump is aware that at times his behavior during the campaign has been out of bounds.
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