Santorum: Swearing at NYTimes makes me 'a real Republican'

Rick Santorum thinks the New York Times is full of it – and he's proud to think so.

The Republican presidential nominee candidate told "Fox & Friends" Monday that he was a "real Republican" for calling a question from New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny "bulls---."

"If you haven't cursed out a New York Times reporter during the course of a campaign, you're not really a real Republican is the way I look at it," Santorum said on the show.

He blamed the outburst on Zeleny asking "the same old question" with "the same old spin."

"I just said, I've had enough of this you-know-what," Santorum said.

Santorum scolded the reporter Sunday while discussing healthcare at a rally in Wisconsin, where he told voters to "pick any other Republican in the country" over frontrunner Mitt Romney because the ex-Massachusetts governor "is the worst Republican in the country to put up against Obama."

Zeleny pushed Santorum on the remark, asking: "You said Romney is the 'worst Republican in the country' -- is that true?"

"What speech did you listen to? Stop lying," Santorum shot back. "I said he was the worst to run on the issue of Obamacare. ... Quit distorting my words. If I see it, it's bulls---. Come on, man."

The Republican went on to question the motives of the media asking whether they are "reporting the truth" or "here to try and spin and make news. Stop it.

Santorum may have shrugged off the incident, but Romney's team pounced. A spokesman for the camp called the reaction "angry" and "flailing," dubbing the outburst a "Tantorum."

Follow Amanda Dallas on Twitter: @DallasSayWhat