Portsmouth, N.H. — Carly Fiorina distanced herself from fellow GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump on Tuesday, telling reporters, “he doesn’t represent me, and he doesn’t represent my party.”
On three different occasions, Fiorina was asked what she thought of Trump being in the race, and what she thought of his comments that most of the Mexicans coming across the border are criminals.
“You know Donald Trump is what he has always been, a tireless self-promoter,” Fiorina told reporters outside Geno’s Chowder and Sandwich Shop here this morning. “So he’s going to say lots of outrageous things, as he always does.”
Trump’s remarks, which he’s now reiterated more than once, have prompted some major companies to end their business relationships with him. And as the saga has continued, Fiorina and her fellow GOP presidential hopefuls have been dogged with questions about what they think of his comments and his presence in the race.
‘You know Donald Trump is what he has always been, a tireless self-promoter’
“Do you think it’s the most important issue to be talking about as a presidential candidate?” Fiorina said when reporters asked if Trump’s candidacy was a problem. “You guys keep asking these questions, not us.”
In an interview with National Review, Fiorina said that Trump had to be taken seriously as a candidate because of his money and presence on the campaign trail. But she intimated that voters might sour on him if he were forced to answer more substantive policy questions.
“I think it’s going to keep getting asked because Donald Trump, he’s like a heat-seeking missile for publicity. So he says things that drive media attention. I think we should expect that. I think we should expect that. I think over time the question the media should be asking him, not others, is what’s his plan, actually,” she said. “The same questions you ask us.”
— Alexis Levinson is the senior political reporter for National Review.