Donald Trump lashed out at Charles Krauthammer, a conservative columnist and Fox News analyst, after Krauthammer panned the potential 2016 contender, citing his low standing in presidential polls.
Trump fired off multiple tweets late Thursday evening calling the pundit a “dummy” and “overrated clown,” and even taking issue with him over the Iraq war.
During a panel discussion on Fox News’s “Special Report” broadcast Thursday of a recent network poll, Krauthammer highlighted Trump’s low popularity, saying it was “deserved.”
{mosads}Krauthammer cited figures on voters who said they “would never vote for” a particular candidate in the race.
“It is just a tremendously interesting poll. It is led by Donald Trump, with a deserved 59 percent,” Krauthammer said.
“Do you have to add ‘deserved’?” host Bret Baier asked.
“He is going to say how sad it is that I’m saying these things,” Krauthammer said. “But, you know, this is an open forum, and we have free speech. Yes, he has a well-deserved, I would say an impressive, 59 percent.”
Trump has flirted with a Republican presidential bid for months, with trips to early-voting states, such as Iowa and New Hampshire. He has stoked speculation with a “major announcement” scheduled on June 16 in New York.
The businessman would be among the top 10 GOP hopefuls to make the cut for the debate, if it was held this week, according to recent polls.