A week after “The View” made fun of her face, GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina made her return appearance on the program and battled the show’s hosts over the barbs and feminism.
From the outset, Fiorina said that the comments made last Friday did not affect her, saying she’s “been called all kinds of things” throughout her career in business and, now, politics.
“Look, I’ve been called all kinds of things. I’ve been called a bimbo from the time I was a secretary to the time I was a CEO,” Fiorina told the hosts. “I think we need to be able to have civil conversations in this country about our differences, as well as about the things that unite us. All too often, we demonize a messenger because we don’t like the message. So, I’d just like to have a conversation about where we agree and where we disagree.”
The former Hewlett-Packard CEO went on to battle Whoopi Goldberg, Raven-Symone and Joy Behar on a multitude off topics, including her opposition to abortion and raising the minimum wage.
“You just went through the litany of the Left,” Fiorina told Behar. “That is the litany of the Left — that the only way you can be pro-woman is to agree with the Left’s prescriptions for women. Here’s the problem: The prescriptions you laid out aren’t helping women.”
Later in the interview, Fiorina responded directly to the comments made about her appearance last week, in which host Michelle Collins said she looked “demented” while forcing a smile. Behar added that it looked like a “Halloween mask.”
“Well, if you meant your comment about my face being demented and a Halloween mask as humorous, so be it. I guess you misinterpreted Donald Trump’s comments about my face and thought those weren’t humorous because you sort of took him to task,” Fiorina said, adding that she has a “real thick skin.”
Collins responded, saying her initial “demented” comment was a “poor choice of words.” Fiorina and the group continued to spar as the 2016 hopeful argued that the show was using their back-and-forth as a good PR to boost her campaign.
“I know you used the unfortunate situation with Donald Trump to your benefit. You know, you were making lemonade out of lemons, and you’re using the feud with ‘The View’ as well as part of your fundraising campaign,” said host Paula Faris. “But you’re clearly trying to make lemonade out of lemons, aren’t you?”
“Oh, so you’re telling me that you guys are lemons?” Fiorina joked. “I thought you said I shouldn’t be offended.”
“That is funny, actually!” Faris said as the hosts applauded Fiorina’s joke.
“Here is the reality,” Fiorina continued. “I think if all of you are honest, you’ll admit this is the reality: Conservative women are held to a different standard than liberal women. That’s just true.”
Fiorina is set to be on the main stage for the fourth GOP debate on Tuesday in Milwaukee, Wis. According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, Fiorina sits sixth in the field nationally with 3.8 percent support. She is also sixth in the Washington Examiner‘s power rankings.
