Kirsten Powers

Carly Fiorina insists that being a woman played no part in her selection as Ted Cruz’s running mate.

In a phone interview from the campaign trail today, Fiorina said, “I think he would have chosen me regardless. I don’t ask people to vote for me because I am a woman,” she said. “I’m asking someone to vote for me because they think I’m qualified.”

Some might disagree. Cruz appears to be “playing the woman card” (to borrow a phrase from Donald Trump) much the way John McCain did in 2008 with his surprise pick of a nationally untested governor from Alaska as his running mate. Fiorina is accomplished and impressive — especially on the debate stage — but nobody would claim that winning elections is her strong suit.

Unlike Hillary Clinton, Fiorina has mostly downplayed her gender as a candidate. But that doesn’t make it any less relevant. Fiorina can attack the presumptive Democratic nominee without fears of being called a sexist. More importantly, Cruz surely calculated a female vice presidential pick might help bring the hurt to Trump in a major area of vulnerability: women voters. The hope presumably is that Trump will retaliate against Fiorina in some sexist manner, further alienating women voters.

So, was it fair for Donald Trump to ding Hillary Clinton for “playing the woman card?” I asked Fiorina in an exclusive interview for USA TODAY.

“Donald Trump clearly has an issue with women,” she responded. “Let’s just be clear. When the Brussels terrorist attacks happened, he turned right around and attacked Heidi Cruz for the next four days.”

It’s not clear which four days Trump spent attacking Mrs. Cruz. This presumably refers to Trump’s re-tweet of an unflattering picture of Heidi Cruz juxtaposed against one of his own ex-model wife a day after another tweet promising to “spill the beans” on his opponent's wife.

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Nonetheless, Fiorina surmised, “I think this tells you a lot about this guy.”

Fiorina also blames Trump for inserting misogyny into the campaign.

“He seems to spend a lot of time insulting women,” Fiorina explained. “Whether it’s Heidi Cruz, or Megyn Kelly or Carly Fiorina or Hillary Clinton.” She concurred with Ted Cruz’s assessment that The Donald has a particular “problem with strong women.”

When I asked what we should make of the fact that Trump has a long rap sheet of viciously attacking members of both genders — including on their physical characteristics (just ask Lil Marco) — Fiorina retorted, “I’m not his psychologist. I can’t get inside his head. All I can tell you is … it says a lot when you spend four days attacking Heidi Cruz.” She did allow that he is an “equal opportunity insulter.”

While she wouldn’t say directly if she had a problem with Trump’s “woman card” allegation against Hillary, Fiorina did express irritation for what she sees as Clinton’s penchant for “assum[ing] that you aren’t really a sister unless you agree with her.”

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Speaking of the sisterhood, I pointed out to Fiorina that the Planned Parenthood Action Fund managed to score the domain www.carlyfiorinaforvicepresident.com which takes you to a page where one can donate to support pro-abortion rights officials and policies. “It doesn’t surprise me,” she noted dismissively. She went on to double-down on her attacks against the organization for “selling body parts of babies for profit.”

As for her newfound friendship with Ted Cruz: Is this for real? “Yes, I do like him,” she said with a laugh. I pointed out that it’s hard for some people to believe this when so many of his colleagues despise him. After all, former House Speaker John Boehner told an audience at Stanford on Wednesday that Cruz was, “Lucifer in the flesh.” Boehner continued, “I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”

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Fiornia didn’t miss a beat. “John Boehner also says that he and Trump are texting and golfing buddies,” she said with disgust. “Donald Trump is the system. He is the establishment. It’s pretty remarkable that Donald Trump is golfing and texting buddies with John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and all those guys up there. He gives money to both sides. That’s how you play the system.”

To Fiorina, Boehner’s attack merely proves that Cruz is the real deal. “If you challenge people to do what they promised they were going to do, then maybe they get their back up a little,” she noted. “That’s why John Boehner isn’t in his leadership job anymore. He didn’t do what he promised the people he would do. And Ted Cruz (does). And he will.”

Fiornia is an articulate defender of Cruz and plays the role of attack-dog well. But it’s hard to see Cruz’s decision as anything but a desperate gimmick. Fiorina insisted that discussions about her new role had nothing to do with Trump’s five-state sweep on Tuesday, with vice presidential candidate conversations starting last week. The offer was proffered and accepted on primary day. But Cruz surely saw what was coming and knew he needed to do something dramatic.

Could it work? Probably not. But make no mistake: Ted Cruz has played the woman card.

Kirsten Powers writes often for USA TODAY.

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