Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina got standing ovations and applause Friday evening with a well-timed response to fellow candidate Donald Trump’s insults.
The crowd of approximately 600 Republican women gathered for the National Federation of Republican Women convention gave Fiorina a standing ovation as she took the stage, Politico reported.
“Ladies, look at this face,” said Fiorina, who is number seven in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings, to the crowd of around 600. “This is the face of a 61-year-old woman. I am proud of every year and every wrinkle.”
The crowd cheered knowingly, Politico reported. A Wednesday Rolling Stone article quoted Trump saying of Fiorina, “Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next President?”
“And look at all of your faces, the face of leadership — the face of leadership in our party, the party of women’s suffrage,” she continued. “The face of leadership in your community, in your businesses, in your places of work and worship.”
“Ladies, note to the Democrat party: We are not a special interest group,” she said to the crowd of Republican women. “We are the majority of the nation.”
“Our experiences, our views, our hopes, our dreams, our desires are as diverse as the other half of the nation — the men,” she said to laughter. “And I personally am so tired of hearing about women’s issues.”
The crowd cheered as Fiorina continued, “Every issue is a woman’s issue! We care about healthcare; we care about national security, about education, about debts and deficits. Yes, we care about the character of our nation. We care about defunding Planned Parenthood. We care about it all.”
As she often does, Fiorina attacked Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton — but she also subtly referenced Trump. “Leadership is not about position,” she said. “It is not about how big your office is or how big your plane, or your helicopter, or your ego is. Leadership is about service.”
Fiorina received tremendous applause when she attacked Republicans in Congress, pointing out that even though they hold a majority, nothing has happened. They haven’t secured the border or defunded Planned Parenthood, she said.
She concluded by saying that she was not asking for the crowd’s vote because she is a woman, but because “I am the most qualified candidate to win this job and do this job.”
Staff outside of the ballroom didn’t have enough Fiorina signs and campaign materials for the mass of people that flooded the booth ahead of the former Hewlett-Packard executive’s speech, according to Politico.
Fiorina is set to appear in the debate Wednesday after CNN made a change to how candidates’ poll numbers were tabulated. She will be the 11th candidate onstage.
