During a commercial break on Wednesday night, in between segments of the CNN Republican debate, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager told reporters gathered in her Brooklyn headquarters that the Republican Party frontrunner, Donald Trump, had been demonstrating more of the "sexism" he's shown "the whole time he's been in the race."
On the campaign trail, Clinton has characterized Trump's comments about women as "outrageous" and "offensive." But the remark from her manager, Robby Mook, amounted to a more explicit characterization of Trump as sexist.
Mook, standing near the front of a conference room in the campaign's 11th floor offices, took questions for about three minutes from political reporters invited to watch the second GOP debate with Clinton aides on Wednesday night.
Responding to a question about Trump's effect on Clinton, Mook said, "The bigger issue is how damaging he has become to the Republican Party. He has completely driven them to the right," he said. "I think you saw more insult, more bluster, more sexism tonight."
One reporter asked Mook to be specific about what he found sexist. He replied, "I think it is a well-established fact that Donald Trump has made incredibly demeaning comments about women, and I think they speak for themselves."
The reporter asked again: Was it something that happened tonight?
"I think tonight," Mook said, "and I think for the whole time he's been in the race."
The gaggle followed a segment of the debate in which moderator Jake Tapper asked another candidate, Carly Fiorina, to weigh in on Trump's recent interview with Rolling Stone: "Look at that face," Trump was quoted as saying. "Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that? The face of our next president?"
Trump later said he was talking about Fiorina's "persona."
Given the chance to respond on Wednesday, Fiorina said, "I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said."
Trump leaned into his mic. "I think she's got a beautiful face," he said, "and I think she's a beautiful woman."
The business magnate also took criticism last month for a heated exchange with Megyn Kelly, the Fox News anchor who moderated the first Republican debate — and for his comments about her afterward: specifically, that she had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her… wherever."
At the time, Clinton called the comment "outrageous," but said that Kelly is a "strong woman, and more than capable of defending herself against Donald Trump."
"I'm worried about what Republican policies would do to the rest of America's women, and I will continue to speak out and speak up about that today and through the rest of this campaign — and in the White House," Clinton told reporters.
On Wednesday night, asked for his estimation of the GOP debate winner, Mook named one of the 2016 candidates not on stage.
"I do think Hillary Clinton is," he said.