Donald Trump: Ex-President Bill Clinton ‘one of the great abusers of the world’

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has launched new attacks against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, as well as her husband, former President Bill Clinton, calling him “one of the great abusers of the world.”

“She [Hillary] wants to accuse me of things. And the husband’s one of the great abusers of the world. Give me a break,” Trump told a crowd in South Carolina on Wednesday.

“She came out saying [Trump] has a ‘penchant for sexism’… now she is playing with that card,” Trump explained. “I had no choice, but I had to mention her husband’s situation,” a reference to Bill Clinton’s previous sexual relationships during his political career.

The billionaire businessman also stated that Clinton, though she plays the “women card,” isn’t very popular among voters of her gender.

“I’ll tell you who doesn’t like Hillary,” he told the crowd. “Women don’t like Hillary. I see it all the time.”

Tensions have been growing between the two leading candidates in recent days, stemming from Trump’s recent comment that Clinton “got [expletive]” during the 2008 presidential election, when she lost to President Barack Obama.

Clinton then accused Trump of having “a penchant for sexism.”

Since he joined the 2016 White House race in mid-June, Trump’s campaign has been marked by controversial statements, including disparaging remarks about Muslims and Mexican immigrants.

Last month, the billionaire real estate tycoon proposed banning Muslims from entering the US, drawing widespread condemnation both domestically and internationally.

Trump, whose mother immigrated from Scotland and paternal grandparents immigrated from Germany, has also called for deporting all undocumented immigrants from the United States.