Trump: ‘I cherish women’

Donald Trump on Sunday professed his love for women and said he would be their best advocate if elected president, dismissing an uproar that has consumed the Republican presidential nomination contest.

The latest controversy started Thursday night during the first GOP prime-time debate, when Fox News debate moderator Megyn Kelly recounted Trump's history of incendiary comments about women.

Angry about what he considered unfair treatment at the debate, Trump told CNN on Friday night that Kelly had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever."

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, the only woman running for the GOP nomination, was among the first to speak out. "I think women of all kinds are really sort of horrified by this," she told CBS. She told CNN, "The point is women understood that comment, and yes, it is offensive."

Trump’s latest dust-up follows the one he incited after deriding the military service of Arizona Sen. John McCain, which set the Republican establishment to worry about the damage he may be doing to the party’s brand. In announcing his presidential bid, Trump labeled Mexican immigrants rapists, criminals and "people that have lots of problems."

The remark about Kelly cost Trump a prime-time speaking slot at the RedState Gathering.

On Sunday, Trump called in to four morning news shows, skipping Fox News.

"I apologize when I'm wrong, but I haven't been wrong. I said nothing wrong," he said. "I'm leading by double digits, so maybe I shouldn't change," he said to NBC's "Meet the Press."

Trump said his comments about Kelly were misconstrued as a reference to menstrual blood or hormonal activity and called that interpretation "deviant." He said he meant to say "nose, ears" and was implying that she was angry. "She asked me a very, very nasty question," he said on ABC's "This Week." "I've had such an amazing relationship with women in business. They are amazing executives. They are killers. They are phenomenal." 

Asked if he thought he had gone too far, Trump said, "No, not at all."

Trump told CNN he had "great relationships" with women and had hired thousands, including many top-level employees, adding, "I cherish women."

Wire services