Rick Santorum curses out New York Times reporter (VIDEO)

Rick Santorum cursed out a New York Times reporter on the campaign trail Sunday night over a story in which he called rival Mitt Romney the "worst Republican" to take on President Obama this fall.

During a campaign stop in Wisconsin earlier Sunday, an agitated Santorum told supporters the former Massachusetts governor would be "the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama," The Associated Press reported.

He later tried to clarify that he was speaking only about Romney's ability to campaign against the national health care law championed by Obama and the Democrats, according to the AP. 

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But the candidate's temper flared when he was pushed by reporters.

“Quit distorting my words. It’s bull—-,” Santorum told New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny, Politico reported.

Santorum defended his comments in a Monday interview on “Fox & Friends,” stating: “If you haven’t cursed out a New York Times reporter during the course of a campaign, you’re not really a real Republican.”

Zeleny also took to the airwaves Monday on CBS’s Charlie Rose, who characterized Santorum’s remarks as a “a little bit profane.”

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“What he’s trying to do is trying to do is make his case to Republican voters here. It’s a very common tactic for Republican presidential candidates, or even Democratic, to use the media as a foil,” Zeleny told Rose. “He clearly knew the cameras were rolling here.”

A Romney spokesman dismissed the attack as a desperate ploy.

“What we saw today was an epic temper tantrum from a desperate and flailing candidate," spokesman Ryan Williams told Politico. "Rick Santorum understands that conservatives are rapidly coalescing around Mitt Romney and that he has virtually no path to the nomination. As a result, he’s panicking."