Appearing truly angered by insults for the first time this campaign, a fired-up Donald Trump on Thursday cast former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney as an irrelevant loser.

After Romney delivered a blistering speech attacking Trump earlier in the day, the GOP front-runner spanked him in his own fiery and bombastic fashion — even using what could be interpreted as a grossly inappropriate expression.

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“I could’ve said, ‘Mitt, drop to your knees,’ and he would’ve dropped to his knees,” said a visibly agitated Trump regarding his endorsement of Romney in 2012. Trump went on to attack Romney as a “stiff” who failed to win the presidency in a race that should have “absolutely” been won, according to Trump. “He let us down, he should’ve won,” added Trump.

What’s more, Trump speculated on why Romney would attack him so publicly — saying Romney was considering a third presidential run in 2016 and Trump inveighed against it. “I will say this, he probably had a right to turn,” said Trump. “Because nobody was nastier than me in getting him not to run.”

Trump made sure to defend himself and his business, which Romney tried desperately to discredit. “I’m a much better businessman than Mitt Romney,” said Trump.

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Trump then turned to his tried-and-true tactic and signature move — name calling. The GOP front-runner hurled insult after insult at Romney, calling him a “choke artist” and a “lightweight,” words he has used recently to describe his competitor Sen. Marco Rubio.

It is no secret that Trump’s tone, vulgarity, and aggressive nature have been a focal point of this campaign. Some have even asked Trump when he plans to become more presidential. Trump addressed it himself on Thursday when he said his wife Melania asked him to be more presidential in that night’s GOP debate, suggesting that it was tough to be presidential when under attack.

In a campaign cycle that has been anything but cordial, the nastiness escalated today as two men — a party elder and former GOP presidential nominee, and the current GOP front-runner — engaged in a full-fledged war of words, each hoping to tarnish the other.