Donald Trump Believes His Decade of Bullying Rosie O'Donnell Is Justified

Near the end of Monday's presidential debate, Hillary Clinton went after Donald Trump's misogynistic behavior and speech, specifically mentioning how he called Alicia Machado, a Venezuelan former contestant in the Miss Universe pageant, "Miss Piggy" and "Miss Housekeeping."

Trump responded by mentioning commercials from Clinton that attacked his misogynistic insults.

"Hillary is hitting me with tremendous commercials," he responded. "Some of it said in entertainment, some of it said by somebody who's been very vicious to me -- Rosie O'Donnell. I said very tough things to her and I think everybody would agree that she deserves it and nobody feels sorry for her."

So Trump stands by the abusive language he's regularly showered on O'Donnell, a lesbian actress, comedian, talk show host, mother, and committed philanthropist. Here are some of the words he's used to describe her:

"Obnoxious"
"Dumb"
"Loser"
"Disgusting"
"Slob"
"Talks like a truck driver"
"Weak"
"Fat, ugly face"
"Unattractive"
"Why would [her partner] stay with her if she had the choice?"

Trump's hatred of O'Donnell goes back at least a decade, when the former cohost of The View criticized him for not firing a Miss USA winner who was caught with drugs and alcohol. On The View, O'Donnell called Trump a "snake-oil salesman" who went bankrupt. Trump soon vowed revenge, repeatedly attacking O'Donnell's appearance and cheering for her failure in interviews and social media.

Thankfully, Clinton is not the first person to confront Trump on his horrifying behavior towards women. Fox journalist Megyn Kelly asked Trump about his abusive language during a debate among Republican candidates last year. "You called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals," Kelly pointed out.

"Only Rosie O'Donnell," Trump responded, and his response was greeted with peals of laughter from the audience. But Kelly didn't let him off the hook. And, of course, Kelly faced wrath herself for putting Trump on the spot.

In an interview with CNN, Trump said, "There was blood coming out of [Kelly's] eyes, blood coming out of her wherever."

Trump's issues with women go further than spats with female celebrities; he routinely sizes up women for their appearance, dismisses them when they don't fit his view of physical perfection, and verbally harasses those who challenge him. It's not a surprise that Trump's understanding of women's true concerns -- work equity, reproductive rights, sexual harassment, rape culture -- is also skin-deep.

"This is a man who has called women pigs, slobs and dogs," Clinton said at Monday's debate. "And someone who has said pregnancy is an inconvenience to employers, who has said women don't deserve equal pay unless they do as good a job as men."