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'Ladies, Look At This Face': Fiorina Hits Back At Trump

Carly Fiorina wants you to look at her face. The superPAC supporting her campaign released a new video, "Faces," hitting back at Donald Trump's recent comments on her appearance in which he said "Look at that face!" and "Would anyone vote for that?"

"Ladies, look at this face, and look at all of your faces — the face of leadership," Fiorina opens the video. The video cuts together Fiorina's speech to the Federation of Republican Women in Arizona on Friday with the faces of several women.

Fiorina goes on to describe the Republican Party as the "party of women's suffrage" and says the Democratic Party should take note that women "are not a special interest group."

Fiorina ends the video to cheers: "This is the face of a 61-year-old woman. I am proud of every year and every wrinkle."

Fiorina repeated that "proud of every wrinkle" line while speaking at an American Legion hall in Alton, N.H., on Sunday morning.

Throughout the weekend, several voters came to her defense. A woman in the audience in Alton told Fiorina, "You not only have a great brain, you have a great face."

At a picnic on Saturday in Chichester, N.H., hosted by former Sen. Gordon Humphrey, an elderly man stood up during a question-and answer session and asked to shake Fiorina's hand. "Trump," he said, eliciting a few laughs from the audience. "I'm just saying what a mistake he made. Really, you are one beautiful person."

"Thank you sir, and thank you for your gallantry," Fiorina replied. "So many people have come up to me, and it's so chivalrous and gallant. Or women will come up to me and say, 'Don't worry about what he said about your face. I love your face.' Honestly, does anyone think I care what Donald Trump thinks about my face?"

Humphrey told NPR he thinks Fiorina should ask Trump for an apology — both for herself and for "American women in general."

"I think he's been really offensive in regards to women generally and to Carly especially," Humphrey said. "It's outrageous; it's hurtful; it's mean-spirited, and he should be read out of the race."

Earlier this month, Trump was quoted in a Rolling Stone profile commenting on Fiorina as she appeared on TV. "Look at that face!" he said. "Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!"

He went on: "I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not [supposed to] say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?"

When asked about his comments on CNN, Trump said he was talking about "her persona," not her looks.

"I'm not talking about looks, I'm talking about persona ... Carly Fiorina has had a terrible past," Trump said.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Amita Kelly is a Washington editor, where she works across beats and platforms to edit election, politics and policy news and features stories.
Sarah McCammon
Sarah McCammon is a National Correspondent covering the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast for NPR. Her work focuses on political, social and cultural divides in America, including abortion and reproductive rights, and the intersections of politics and religion. She's also a frequent guest host for NPR news magazines, podcasts and special coverage.
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