Trump Swears Hair Isn't Toupee, Lets Woman Touch It At Campaign Event
GREENVILLE, S.C. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says his trademark hairdo is for real.
He told 1,800 people in South Carolina Thursday: I don't wear a toupee. It's my hair ... I swear.''
The billionaire developer waved a copy of The New York Times shortly after taking the stage, saying the newspaper accused him of wearing a toupee.
Then he called a woman onstage from a front table and instructed her to inspect his hair. "Just real quick. We don't want to mess it up too much because I do use hairspray," Trump said.
When the woman approached him, he asked, "Is it mine?" As she touched his hair, she said, "Yes, I believe it is,'' to laughter and applause.
"Have I ever met you before?" Trump asked the woman, to which she replied "no."
The woman was Mary Margaret Bannister, the wife of a South Carolina lawmaker. She likewise said afterward that she believed his hair was real.
"When I touched his hair, yes, it does look real to me," she said. "I didn't tug on it, but I did touch on it and he does wear hair spray."
A national Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday puts Trump in the lead of the crowded GOP primary race with 28 percent, followed by Ben Carson with 12 percent of the Republican support.
Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are tied for third.
As CBS2's Jessica Schneider reported, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has just 4 percent, but he refused to show signs of giving up on CBS This Morning.
"These polls don't mean anything right now. What matters is what matters to the American people. They're frustrated by a president who has permitted lawlessness, and now they have the leading democratic candidate who doesn't believe the law applies to her at all," Christie said.
Christie was referring to Hillary Clinton, who leads in the latest poll of Democrats at 45 percent, down from 55 percent in July.
Senator Bernie Sanders is at 22 percent, and Vice President Joe Biden who hasn't even decided on a run is at 18 percent.
Hillary's latest comments comparing Republicans who don't support women's rights to terrorists, have drawn fire.
"Now, extreme views about women, we expect from terrorist groups, we expect that from people who don't want to live in the modern world. But, it's a little hard to take coming from Republicans who want to be President of the United States," she said.
The question still looms, will Vice President Joe Biden jump into the race? He spoke with Democratic leaders about it on a conference call, and said the emotional toll of his son's death is still weighing heavily on him, and he's considering that stress while deciding whether to run.
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