Nearly 24 hours after he said that Hillary Clinton had been "schlonged" by Barack Obama during her failed 2008 presidential campaign, Donald Trump took to Twitter to defend his comments.
Schlonged, the Republican businessman said in a tweet, was not a vulgar reference to a penis. Instead, he argued, he meant "beaten badly."
Once again, #MSM is dishonest. "Schlonged" is not vulgar. When I said Hillary got "schlonged" that meant beaten badly.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2015
Trump went on to defend his comments, saying that NPR's Neal Conan had once used the phrase to refer to the trouncing at the polls that the Walter Mondale-Geraldine Ferraro presidential ticket received in the 1984 election.
NPR's @NealConan said "schlonged" to WaPo re: 1984 Mondale/Ferraro campaign: "That ticket went on to get schlonged at the polls." #Hypocrisy— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2015
Earlier in the day, NPR posted audio of those comments.
Conan tweeted Tuesday evening that while the Mondale-Ferraro ticket got "schlonged," Clinton came "very close to the nomination."
@jaketapper Just wanted to point out that Senator Clinton came very close to the nomination; Mondale/Ferraro ticket got schlonged.— Neal Conan (@nealconan) December 23, 2015
During a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Monday night, Trump used the word "schlonged" to describe Clinton's primary loss to then-candidate Barack Obama in 2008.
"She was favored to win and she got schlonged, she lost," he said on Monday night.
Many news outlets suggested that Trump was drawing a reference to a penis.
Trump's comments were rebuked by many, including Twitter users who called Trump's language "degrading."
We are not responding to Trump but everyone who understands the humiliation this degrading language inflicts on all women should. #imwithher— Jennifer Palmieri (@jmpalmieri) December 22, 2015
Clinton herself has not commented on the remarks. But during a campaign rally in Keota, Iowa, she said no one should be allowed to "bully his way into the presidency. Because that is not who we are as Americans."