A young woman who confronted Donald Trump on Monday with a question about his respect for women is tied to the campaign for one of his opponents in the Republican primary race: Jeb Bush.
“Maybe I’m wrong, maybe you can prove me wrong, but I don’t think you’re a friend to women,” student Lauren Rose Batchelder said to applause from the audience.
“I knew I shouldn’t have picked her,” Trump said in response. “I respect women incredibly.”
In social media posts online, Batchelder lists that she is an intern for Bush’s presidential campaign and has also attended events with candidates like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
“Like many in New Hampshire, Lauren is a student at St. Anselm’s who is passionate about and active in politics and attended this event on her own accord,” Bush spokeswoman Allie Bradenburger said. “While this question was not sanctioned by the campaign, we can’t help but notice Mr. Trump does seem to be very sensitive about being challenged by women.”
Bush’s campaign confirmed to CNN that Batchelder has volunteered at events for the candidate but has never been paid as staff.
Batchelder was attending the bipartisan “No Labels” convention in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Monday where candidates like Trump, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also spoke.
In answering her question Trump said he would be a better president for women than any of the other candidates running, but Batchelder wasn’t satisfied, pressing the candidate for specifics.
“I want to get paid the same as a man, and I think you understand that. So if you become president, will a woman make the same as a man and do I get to choose what I do with my body?” Batchelder said, as the crowd applauded her.
“You’re going to make the same if you do as good a job. And I happen to be pro-life. OK? I’m pro-life,” Trump answered.
Tuesday morning Trump fired back at Batchelder on Twitter saying, “The arrogant young woman who questioned me in such a nasty fashion at No Labels yesterday was a Jeb staffer! HOW CAN HE BEAT RUSSIA & CHINA?”
This is not the first time Batchelder has challenged a presidential candidate with questions related to how women are treated.
At a town hall in September in Manchester she questioned Bernie Sanders on how he would handle the issue of sexual assault on college campuses, saying she herself had been a victim of it.
Sanders thanked Batchelder for her courage in standing up and sharing her story.
“I know that’s not an easy thing to do, but you made that decision, that you were not going to take it and you were going to stand up and talk about what happened to you and a whole lot of woman in this country,” Sanders said.
