Billionaire lashes out at moderators after he is booed by studio audience and admits calling women "fat pigs"
Donald Trump today blamed his chaotic performance in the first Republican debate on the "unfair" questions from moderators but still insisted he was the "unequivocal winner" of the opening bout of the 2016 election.
The billionaire property mogul was the centre of attention during Thursday night's raucous Fox News debate, smirking as he admitted calling women "fat pigs" and refusing to rule out running as a third party candidate even if doing so would help Hillary Clinton win the White House.
But his provocative performance drew boos from the audience in Cleveland, Ohio and a focus group of voters held immediately after the debate found that even some of his own supporters were turned off by his diatribes.
Marco Rubio, a young Cuban-American senator from Florida, was widely judged to have won the prime time debate while Carly Fiorina, the only woman among the 17 Republican hopefuls, stood out at an earlier forum for second-tier candidates.
Mr Trump responded on Friday by retweeting suggestions on Twitter that the debate's only female moderator, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, was "a bimbo". He also called her "not very good or professional".
"Megyn Kelly really bombed tonight," he said immediately after the debate, which was watched by a record 24 million people across the US.
Ms Kelly, who is one of America's best-known broadcasters, drew Mr Trump's anger by asking him why in the past he called women "fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals."
"Only Rosie O'Donnell," Mr Trump replied, referring to the lesbian American comic with whom he has feuded in the past.
After being reminded that he told a contestant on the Celebrity Apprentice that he would like "to see her on her knees", Mr Trump responded: "I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct."
Mr Trump also took issue with the debate's opening question, when he was asked if he could promise not to run as an independent if he fails to win the Republican nomination, a scenario that would almost certainly hand victory to the Democrats.
When he refused to do so - saying he wanted the "leverage" of keeping his options open - the audience booed and other candidates took aim at him.
"I thought they were unfair questions," he complained on MSNBC. "But, I mean, I can handle it."
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