Washington (CNN)Ann Romney, the wife of former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, condemned South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's Democratic challenger after he mistakenly called her a "whore" — and then chuckled. "When I first heard about it, it hit me right in my gut," Romney said in a Monday phone interview with CNN. "My nerve endings went haywire. It's so upsetting when you know someone can say something like that about a woman, and not have any kind of reaction. It's so unacceptable. Nikki is a great girl and has been a great governor." The Democrat, Vincent Sheheen, made the comment at a campaign event late last week in Florence. In the midst of attacking Haley's education record, Sheheen stumbled over his words and told the crowd, "We are going to escort whore out the door."
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Ann Romney is slamming a slur uttered by a Democratic candidate for South Carolina governor
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Romney to CNN: "It hit me right in my gut:
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Romney didn't say whether her husband would run for president again
Vincent Sheheen
Sheheen
But when some in the audience picked up on the verbal faux pas and started applauding, @placeholder grinned and laughed along with people in the crowd.
Vincent Sheheen
Sheheen
@placeholder apologized for the moment in a radio interview on Monday.
GOP
Romney, who came to know Haley during the 2012 presidential campaign when she was one of the Mitt Romney's top @placeholder supporters, said she spoke to the governor by phone about the flare-up.
GOP
"You get so sick of saying there is bias out there, but if a @placeholder had said this, it would be blowing up in their face like nobody's business.
GOP
She offered a larger critique of the so-called @placeholder "war on women" — a campaign strategy that Democrats used to devastating effect against Romney in 2012.
Democratic
Democratic
She offered a larger critique of the so-called Republican "war on women" — a campaign strategy that @placeholder used to devastating effect against Romney in 2012.