The reporter attacked by Rick Santorum said Monday that the Republican presidential candidate's outburst at him was a tactic for the cameras.
Santorum drew attention on Sunday for lashing out at Jeff Zeleny, a New York Times reporter, after Zeleny asked him a question he didn't like. During a Sunday speech, Santorum said that Mitt Romney was "the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama." Zeleny later asked him about the speech.
"You said Mitt Romney is the worst Republican in the country," he said. "Is that true?"
"Stop lying," Santorum said, claiming that he was only talking about Romney's record on health care. "Quit distorting my words ... if I see it, it's bulls---."
Speaking to "CBS This Morning" on Monday, Zeleny brushed off the outburst.
"Health care was not attached to that sentence in his soundbite there," he said. "[I was] simply asking for clarification."
Co-host Erica Hill asked Zeleny to comment on an email Santorum sent to supporters saying he was "ready to take on the New York Times."
"He can certainly do whatever he would like," Zeleny said. "It is a very common tactic for Republican presidential candidates, or even Democratic presidential candidates, to try and use the media as a foil here. We've seen Newt Gingrich do it throughout the campaign season. So he clearly knew the cameras were rolling here ... he's very sensitive to these questions."
Watch the outburst:
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