Bill Clinton offers backhanded compliment to GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake

Considering his rather infamous history when it comes to women, one would think Bill Clinton might keep his observations about their physical attributes to himself.

However, just last week, the former president -- whose legendary entanglement with a White House intern left an indelible imprint on his legacy -- decided to hold forth on the appearance of Arizona Republican Senate hopeful Kari Lake, giving her an opening for a salty response, as the Daily Mail reports.

Clinton lets loose

During a Phoenix campaign stop on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrat Reuben Gallego, Clinton attempted to draw what he felt were key distinctions between the two top contenders for the state's open Senate seat and how they might be illustrative of the presidential race.

Clinton declared the Senate matchup as “a beautiful microcosm of the campaign that Kamala Harris is running for president,” leaving the crowd to wonder about the analogy he was trying to create.

The former president went on, “You've got a person that grew up under sometimes-challenging circumstances, who made something of his life, running against someone who is physically attractive but believes that politics is a performance art. And where, like JD Vance, she has to be prostrate before the master.”

While Clinton may have believed the comparison to be uniquely apt in the current political environment, Lake wasted little time in offering a snappy retort that referenced the former president's controversial – and some might say embarrassing – past conduct.

Lake responds

As the Arizona Republic notes, it was on Thursday that Lake had an opportunity to publicly respond to Clinton's backhanded compliment.

Speaking at Arizona State University in Tempe, Lake, 55, stated of the former president's musings, “As a middle-aged woman, I'm flattered.”

She then added a bit of a zinger by commenting, “I thought I was a little to old for him. Doesn't he like interns?”

Lake was, of course, referencing Clinton's brief fling with then-22-year-old Washington intern Monica Lewinsky, a dalliance that occurred during his long marriage to eventual Senator, secretary of State, and failed presidential contender Hillary Clinton.

Though Lake's response to Clinton's tortured attempt to describe the current Arizona Senate battle was indisputably quick and clever, it may not be enough to earn her a win come Nov. 5.

While the Republican has narrowed the gap between herself and Gallego in recent weeks, polling still suggests that she has significant ground yet to gain if she is to claim a coveted seat in the upper chamber.