Hillary Clinton may have just unwittingly given Carly Fiorina the tailwind she needs to have another surge in the Republican primary field.
During a roundtable for veterans in Derry, New Hampshire, Clinton engaged with an audience member who was visibly frustrated with Fiorina, the only other woman in the 2016 race.
The man, who said he was a former Hewlett-Packard employee laid off during Fiorina's tenure as HP's chief executive, said he wanted to "reach through" the television and "strangle" Fiorina when he sees her on television.
Watch @HillaryClinton react when a town hall attendee says he wants to “strangle” Carly Fiorina: https://t.co/B7CYtJssSM— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 10, 2015
Clinton, along with many people in the room, laughed.
"I know that doesn't sound very nice," the man added.
"I wouldn't mess with you," Clinton said.
While the remarks came from an audience member and not Clinton herself, the former secretary of state did little to disavow them in the moment. That creates an opening for Fiorina, who has said during debates and on the campaign trail that she is Clinton's "worst nightmare."
Fiorina's campaign quickly seized on the comments, attacking what they see as a press corps that treats Clinton with kid gloves.
Sarah Isgur Flores, a spokesperson for Fiorina's campaign, tweeted:
Let's all watch @HillaryClinton's media lapdogs explain why this is ok in 3, 2, 1....#whatbias— Sarah Isgur Flores (@whignewtons) November 10, 2015
Other Republican women, including Republican strategist Amanda Carpenter -- who previously worked for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz -- also piled on.
Carpenter said Clinton "is pretty much showing feminism at its worst."
Hillary is pretty much showing feminism at its worst. A weapon for some women to use to advance themselves, not all.— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 10, 2015
And Liz Mair, who worked for Fiorina during her 2010 California Senate bid, said if a similar situation had happened with a Republican candidate, that person would have been called to exit the race.
If that happened w a GOP candidate vis a vis Clinton, there'd be demands he/she exit the race, and people saying Rs support violence v women— Liz Mair (@LizMair) November 10, 2015
"By laughing off a male questioner's desire to strangle Carly Fiorina, Hillary Clinton and the Democrats have lost all credibility claiming to be a party that stands up for women," RNC press secretary Allison Moore said in a statement to reporters. "Jokes about committing acts of violence against women are always in poor taste and should be condemned every time. It's clear women just can't count on Hillary Clinton to stand up for them. She should apologize immediately."