Donald Trump says he doesn’t think he’s looking to get into Hillary Clinton’s marital history if she hits him with the “women’s card” at the upcoming presidential debate, while raising concerns about a “phony system” and calling moderator Lester Holt “a Democrat.”
“If she treats me with respect, I will treat her with respect. It really depends,” Mr. Trump said on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” on Monday. “You’re going to have to feel it out when you’re out there.”
Asked if he would get into Mrs. Clinton’s marital history if she comes after Mr. Trump on the “women’s card,” Mr. Trump said he’s not looking to do so.
“I don’t think I’m looking to do that,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do exactly. … It depends on what level she hits you with. If it’s fair, if it’s unfair, but certainly I’m not looking to do” that.
“There [is] nobody that respects women more than Donald Trump — that I can tell you,” he said. “And I’ll help women, because we have the women’s health problems — we have a lot of problems. And I will help a lot more than Hillary can — that I can tell you.”
Mr. Trump said he has respect for Mr. Holt, the NBC anchor who is moderating the first debate, but that there is an effort underway to “intimidate” Mr. Holt in the wake of a recent military forum moderated by of NBC’s Matt Lauer.
“Lester’s a professional, but we’ll see what happens. I mean, I think it’s unfair,” Mr. Trump said, also calling Mr. Holt “a Democrat.”
“Look, it’s a phony system. Lester’s a Democrat. They’re all Democrats, OK?” he said. “It’s a very unfair system.”
Mr. Trump said he’s “not OK” with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who is a moderator in the second presidential debate.
“I think he treats me very unfairly at CNN,” Mr. Trump said.
“Gaming the refs — that’s what they’re doing,” he said.
Mr. Trump called Fox News’ Chris Wallace, who is moderating the third debate, “tough” and “fair.”
“I’ve done a lot of work with Chris, and I’ve never had a problem with him,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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