--- title: Only a Woman Could Slow Donald Trump description: In some ways, Carly Fiorina's gender gave her an advantage canonical: https://time.com/4039408/carly-fiorina-donald-trump/ author: Cathy Young article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-18T16:02:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:56.017Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Only a Woman Could Slow Donald Trump og:description: In some ways, Carly Fiorina's gender gave her an advantage og:url: https://time.com/4039408/carly-fiorina-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte88483d99027f448/6988641d524fc07ec8df48f0/carly.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3600 og:image:height: 2025 og:image:alt: US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-DEBATE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Only a Woman Could Slow Donald Trump twitter:description: In some ways, Carly Fiorina's gender gave her an advantage twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte88483d99027f448/6988641d524fc07ec8df48f0/carly.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Only a Woman Could Slow Donald Trump > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=d8e29fd8-9665-4435-b810-21e74c8f3296&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch the Republican Debate In Less than 3 Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch the Republican Debate In Less than 3 Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FZG84mwx.m3u8) (2:44)  _Published 2015-09-17. Watch the top 11 Republican candidates face off during the second GOP debate._ by [Cathy Young](https://time.com/author/cathy-young/) ## Cathy Young Sep 18, 2015 4:02 PM UTC  Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina speaks during the Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on Sept. 16, 2015. Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina speaks during the Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on Sept. 16, 2015. Frederic Brown—AFP/Getty Images by [Cathy Young](https://time.com/author/cathy-young/) ## Cathy Young Sep 18, 2015 4:02 PM UTC If there’s [one thing](http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/fiorina-enjoys-mic-drop-moments-at-gop-debate/article/2572300#.Vfr%5FhA72B2A.twitter) [on which](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/09/17/fiorina-after-narrowly-making-stage-seizes-spotlight-at-gop-debate/) [everyone](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/republican-presidential-debate/405802/) [seems](http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/17/politics/republican-debate-winners-losers-donald-trump/) [in agreement](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/who-won-everything-else-know-gop-debate-n428981) after the second Republican presidential debate, it’s that Carly Fiorina, the former tech industry CEO who had to fight just to get onto the main stage, was the breakaway winner of the evening. Confident, strong and precise, she had a commanding and graceful presence. Perhaps most impressively, she accomplished the feat of standing up to Donald Trump, succeeding where his other rivals mostly failed. A viral [tweet](https://twitter.com/fordm/status/644322865119133696?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) compared Fiorina’s drubbing of Trump to the iconic scene in the final _Lord of the Rings_ movie, _The Return of the King_, in which the monster boasts, “No man can kill me”—only to have the warrior princess take off her helmet and shout, “I am no man!” before striking him down. And indeed, in some ways, Fiorina’s womanhood gave her an advantage in a confrontation with Trump. Feminists have often remarked on the [double bind](http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/The%5FDouble%5FBind%5FDilemma%5Ffor%5FWomen%5Fin%5FLeadership%5FDamned%5Fif%5FYou%5FDo%5FDoomed%5Fif%5FYou%5FDont.pdf) faced by women seeking leadership roles: if too aggressive, they are seen as shrill, unfeminine and off-putting; if not aggressive enough, they are seen as too weak to lead. While this sexist bias exists, it is often modified by circumstances: For instance, while a [2007 study](http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/worklife/08/02/angry.men.women.reut/index.html?iref=newssearch) found that hypothetical female executive candidates who show anger are penalized while male candidates tend to be rewarded, the female penalty disappeared if the woman had a good reason to be angry. And there is far less recognition of the fact that for women who can find the right balance, their gender can be an advantage: They can be tough without being too intimidating, and they can make it very hard for their male opponents to counterattack without being seen as bullies. Fiorina’s female edge was clearly on display in her [talked-about face-off](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4kX2tXvuVA) with Trump, addressing his disparaging remarks about her looks in a recent _Rolling Stone_ interview. Her steely response—“Women knew what Donald Trump meant”—was met with applause; when he tried to dig himself out of the hole by calling her beautiful, it came across as both fake and patronizing. To be fair, there was probably no good way for him to come back from that, except perhaps to concede defeat on this point and compliment Fiorina for handling the issue like a boss. Fiorina also dominated [her exchange with Trump](http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-and-fiorina-squabble-over-their-business-records/article/2572269) about their respective business careers, deftly parrying his attack on her record at Hewlett Packard (where she was fired after massive layoffs) and going on the offensive about his bankruptcies. Trump seemed somewhat restrained compared to his usual pit-bull style. That may be because going pit bull on a female opponent is almost guaranteed to make a man look bad—unchivalrous in the eyes of the more traditional-minded segment of the public, misogynist in the eyes of the more feminist contingent. In particular, questioning a female business leader’s competence can easily look sexist. Fiorina’s conservative views are far less libertarian than mine. While her story about her stepdaughter’s drug-related death was powerful, it is a poor reason to oppose marijuana legalization. Her passionate denunciation of Planned Parenthood misrepresented the content of the recent undercover videos—though even supporters of abortion rights, among whom I count myself, should be able to agree that what those videos show is disturbing. And, much as I appreciated Fiorina’s tough response to Trump’s promise to make everything better by talking to Vladimir Putin, her apparent suggestion that we shouldn’t talk to Putin at all was rather startling. But it’s clear that Fiorina is an electrifying and formidable candidate. Seven years ago, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was briefly touted as a harbinger of a Republican Year of the Woman. Fiorina, as a contender for the top spot on the ticket, may prove to be the real thing. ## Transcript [ APPLAUSE ] I never attacked him on his look. And believe me, there's plenty of subject matter right there. [ LAUGH ] We don't need an apprentice in the White House. We have one right now. So 40 years ago, I smoked marijuana. But when you challenge the status quo, you make enemies. I made a few. Steve Jobs told me that when he called me the day I was fired. More energy tonight. I like that. Just because he says it doesn't make it true. I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said. [ MUSIC ] We're fighting ISIS. ISIS wants to fight Syria. Why are we fighting ISIS in Syria? Let them fight each other and pick up the remnants . >> Yes. Having met Vladimir Putin, I wouldn't talk to him at all. We've talked way too much to him. The single biggest National security threat facing America right now, is the threat of a nuclear Iran. We are stronger when we work with the western civilization, our friends in Europe, and just doing it on our own, I don't think is the right policy. I don't think we need to be rash. I don't think we need to be reckless. And I think we need to leave a lines of communication open. We need to be strong against China. How do we confront Iran? And the first thing that we need to do is to reestablish our commitment to Israel, which has been tattered by this administration. [ MUSIC ] I defunded Planned Parenthood. And I vetoed Planned Parenthood funding, now, 8 times in New Jersey. We don't want this organization to get funding, and the money oughta be reprogrammed. And for family planning in other organizations that don't support this tactic. Let's ask Hillary Clinton. She believes in the systematic murder of children in the womb, to preserve their body parts [ UNKNOWN ] in a way that maximizes their value for sale for profit. Well he's wrong on a lot of things, but on this he's wrong because I'm the most pro- life governor on this stage. I'd like to link these two issues, both of which are incredibly important. Iran and Planned Parenthood. One has something to do with the defense of the security of this nation. The other has something to do with the defense of the character of this nation. We need to take the fingerprint of every person. Who comes to this country on a visa, and when they over stay their visa we need to tap them on the shoulder and say, you have over stayed your welcome, you're taking advantage of the American people, it's time for you to go. If we don't seal the border the rest of the stuff really doesn't matter. You're proud of your family just as I am. Correct. To subject my wife into the middle of a raucous. Political conversation was completely inappropriate. And I hope you apologize for that, Donald. But to build a wall and to deport people, half a million a month, would cost hundreds of billions of dollars, Donald. This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish. 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