Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.) "crazy," "neurotic" and a "terrible person" in an interview Monday on Breitbart Radio, while complimenting her ability to negotiate a better debate structure for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
Trump told Breitbart host Stephen Bannon that Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, had created a "great deal" for the Democrats. Trump criticized the Republican Party for its role in the process after CNBC's widely panned GOP debate last week.
"You really need that RNC to go in there and fight hard," Trump said. "And they have to be very tough, and very smart. You have this crazy Wasserman Schultz, Debra Wasserman Schultz, who’s in there, a highly neurotic woman. This is a woman that is a terrible person. I watch her on television. And she is a terrible person. And in all fairness, she negotiated a great deal for Hillary, because they gave Hillary all softballs. Every ball was a softball."
The DNC charged Trump with misogynistic attacks on behalf of Schultz, a frequent presence on cable news known for sticking to her anti-GOP talking points,
Trump's remark that Schultz was manipulating the debate process in favor of Clinton is not solely a Republican one. Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Martin O'Malley, the former governor of Maryland, have criticized the limited number of debates on the their side.
While Schultz was criticizing Trump during a New Hampshire event for Democrats in September, the crowd heckled her about the lack of debates.
The Democrats have held only one debate so far, which was moderated by CNN's Anderson Cooper on Oct. 13. The Republicans have already held three, hosted by Fox News, CNN, and CNBC. In response to what was generally perceived as a biased debate format by CNBC, RNC chair Reince Priebus wrote an open letter to NBC News announcing it was dropping its partnership with the network for a debate scheduled in February.