Rick Santorum says President Barack Obama is a “big boy” who can defend himself against people like the woman at a Santorum town hall Monday, who called Obama an “avowed Muslim” who has no legal right to call himself president.

The woman made the statement during a Santorum event in Lady Lake, Florida, Santorum took a question from an unidentified woman who said, “I never refer to Obama as president because legally he is not, and well, he constantly says that our constitution is passé, and he totally ignores it. As you know, he does what he darn well pleases. He is an avowed Muslim, and my question is why isn’t something being done to get him out of our government. He has no legal right to be calling himself president.”

Santorum did not correct the woman who brought up this false claim. Instead, he responded that indeed, he was trying to get Obama out of government.

WATCH: Woman at Santorum town hall calls Obama ‘an avowed Muslim’

Video from ThinkProgress

When asked by a reporter why he didn’t correct the woman for calling President Obama a Muslim, Senator Santorum said, “Why do you guys ask these ‘gotcha’ questions like it’s my job to go out and correct everybody who says something I don’t agree with? It’s not my responsibility, as a candidate, to correct everybody who makes a statement that I disagree with. It’s not my job to go out and defend the president every time someone says something that I disagree with them. It’s a media ‘gotcha’ thing — If a woman has an opinion that is obviously not one that I have repeatedly said that I disagree with. At every turn, I don’t have to say that, OK?”

An AP reporter, Philip Elliott, later Tweeted: “Santorum also says Obama “a big boy” who can “defend himself” from those like the birther who says POTUS is a Muslim.”