Santorum: You’re Not 'a Real Republican’ If You Haven’t Cursed Out a Times Reporter

After an incident over the weekend in which he lashed out a New York Times reporter by using an obscenity, Rick Santorum tried to downplay the incident, saying on Monday that it’s a mark of his Republican bona fides that he said such a thing.

“If you haven’t cursed out a New York Times reporter during the course of a campaign, you’re not really a real Republican,” Santorum said on Fox News's Fox & Friends.” He added that “it was one of these harassing moments” from the reporter that made him say such a thing.

According to a story by Jeff Zeleny of The Times, in a speech on Sunday, Santorum said Romney would be the "worst Republican in the country" to pit against Obama. When Zeleny asked Santorum to clarify, Santorum reportedly became frustrated and snapped: “Quit Distorting my words. It's bull----“