Trump’s sexist remark turns Republican party against him

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during the first Republican presidential debate at the Quicken Loans Arena Thursday, August 6, 2015, in Cleveland. AP

Donald Trump was scratched from a Republican Party event Saturday after suggesting that a presidential debate moderator was tough on him because she was menstruating.

The off-handed comment unleashed a new storm of criticism against Trump as he seeks the party’s nomination for next year’s election and leads in the polls.

Meanwhile, US media reported that Trump’s top advisor had left his campaign, with both sides giving different accounts as to whether he was fired or quit.

The departure comes amid furious damage control, as Trump seeks to nuance his latest headline-grabbing remark.

The bombastic billionaire came under fire from his party after a particularly crude accusation that Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, one of the moderators at Thursday’s Republican presidential debate, had singled him out with rough treatment.

Trump had already called out the station’s moderators for asking “unfair” questions after Kelly brought up his use of derogatory language towards women in Twitter posts. Kelly asked him if this was befitting a man vying to be the US president.

But he turned up the tone Friday evening when he told CNN that Kelly “is just somebody I didn’t have a lot of respect for.”

“You can see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever,” he continued.

By Saturday, Trump’s invitation to a prominent grassroots Republican event in Atlanta — RedState Gathering — had been rescinded.

“As much as I do personally like Donald Trump, his comment about Megyn Kelly on CNN is a bridge too far for me,” said conservative pundit Erick Erickson, who is hosting the RedState activist event. Trump was to have spoken at it.