43 most startling moments of the campaign — Part 3

by Rebecca Savransky - 04/08/16 10:14 AM ET

Donald Trump, Sarah Palin — Getty Images

December 3 and December 16: Carson trips up with ‘hummus’ and ‘Reince Pubis’

Carson titled his book “Gifted Hands,” but it was his tongue that drew more attention in December. The retired neurosurgeon repeatedly mispronounced Hamas — the name of a Palestinian group that has been accused of promoting violence against Israelis — during a speech to a prominent Jewish Republican group about the Middle East.

He sounded at times like he was saying “hummus.”

{mosads}And during a later GOP debate, Carson seemed to pronounce Priebus’s last name as “Pubis.”

Priebus joked about frequent mispronunciations of his name after the incident.

December 7: Trump calls for temporary ban on Muslims entering the country

Weeks after the Paris terror attacks and days after the San Bernardino shootings, Trump called for a blanket ban on all Muslims entering the United States.

He urged a “total and complete shutdown” of all federal processes that allow followers of Islam into the country until leaders can “figure out what’s going on.”

Trump’s proposal received backlash from his rivals, with some calling it “unhinged,” “fascist” and “downright dangerous.”

A late March poll showed that more than 50 percent of all American voters support a temporary ban on Muslims traveling to the United States.

December 18: Sanders sues DNC

A spat over access to the Democratic National Committee voter database blew up after Sanders sued the committee in federal court.

The DNC shut off the Sanders campaign’s access after reports that a Sanders aide improperly tapped into separate data belonging to Clinton’s campaign. The aide was fired, and the Sanders campaign said the DNC was overreacting.

The campaign claimed it was losing $600,000 in donations each day that it didn’t have access to the data and said the “damage to the campaign’s political viability as a result of being unable to communicate with constituents and voters, is far more severe, and incapable of measurement.”

The Sanders campaign officially served the DNC with its lawsuit in March.

December 19: Debate bathroom break sparks insults

Clinton walked back across the debate stage while the moderator was asking a question after she ran late returning from a commercial break.

The moment was little-noticed until Trump attacked, calling Clinton’s bathroom break “disgusting.”

“I know where she went, it’s disgusting, I don’t want to talk about it,” he said. “No, it’s too disgusting. Don’t say it, it’s disgusting, let’s not talk.”

Sanders mocked Trump’s concern, saying the business mogul “has discovered that women go to the bathroom, and it’s very upsetting for him.”

December 21: Trump says Clinton ‘got schlonged’

Trump used a controversial turn of phrase to describe Clinton losing the 2008 Democratic primary to Barack Obama.

“She was favored to win and she got schlonged,” Trump told supporters at a rally.

Clinton’s supporters attacked Trump, accusing him of “degrading language.” Trump defended his remarks, saying “schlonged” meant beaten badly and was not a vulgar word.

January 10: Trump says Hillary enabled Bill’s infidelity

Trump called Clinton an “enabler” of her husband’s infidelities as the two traded sexism charges.

“She’s not a victim. She was an enabler,” Trump told “Fox News Sunday.” “She worked with him. She was — some of the women have been totally destroyed. Some of these women have been destroyed. And Hillary worked with him.”

The businessman said discussing accusations of adultery, sexual assault and harassment against Bill Clinton were “fair game” because the former president was on the campaign trail with his wife.

January 13: Kids sing at Trump rally about crushing enemies

Three young performers known as the USA Freedom Kids, ages 8 to 11, performed a song-and-dance routine before a Trump rally where they sang about crushing enemies and freedom.

“Cowardice, are you serious?” the song begins. “Apologies for freedom — I can’t handle this! When freedom rings — answer the call! On your feet — stand up tall! Freedom’s on our shoulders — USA! Enemies of freedom, face the music. Come on boys, take them down!”

The girls, dressed in glittering stars-and-stripes costumes, sang about Trump’s leadership, saying the businessman “knows how to make America great.”

January 19: Palin gives Trump a rhythmic endorsement

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gave Trump a spirited endorsement, touting him as the only candidate who has shown he is the “master of the art of the deal.”

“They stomp on our neck, and then they tell us, ‘Just chill, OK, just relax.’ Well, look, we are mad, and we’ve been had. They need to get used to it,” she said.

“How about the rest of us? Right-winging, bitter-clinging, proud clingers of our guns, our God, and our religion, and our Constitution,” Palin added with a hint of musical intonation.

“In fact it’s time to drill, baby, drill down, and hold these folks accountable.”

January 23: ‘I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot people’

Trump marveled at how loyal his supporters are, joking at an Iowa rally that he could kill someone on the streets of Manhattan without losing support.

“I have the most loyal people, did you ever see that? I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot people and I wouldn’t lose voters,” Trump said.