The list of Republican lawmakers who are ditching Donald Trump is growing fast since
After video surfaced of Donald Trump explicitly describing how he tried to seduce a married woman, kissed women no matter if they wanted to be kissed and grabbed them by the p***y, Republican lawmakers have quickly started distancing themselves from the presidential nominee just a month ahead of the election.
Here is the list of lawmakers who once supported Trump and have backed away since the video came out Friday.
U.S. Senate
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO)
“If Donald Trump wishes to defeat Hillary Clinton, he should do the only thing that will allow us to do so– step aside,” Gardner said on Twitter.
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID)
“I can no longer endorse Donald Trump,” Crapo said on Twitter. “This is not a decision that I have reached lightly, but his pattern of behavior has left me no choice,” Idaho’s senior senator said. “His repeated actions and comments toward women have been disrespectful, profane and demeaning.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
“I cannot and will not support Donald Trump for president. He has forfeited the right to be our party’s nominee,” Murkowski in a statement on Twitter..
Dan Sullivan (R-AK)
“I’m calling on Trump to step aside for Gov. Pence. Trump can’t lead on critical issue of ending dom violence and sexual assault,” Sullivan said on Twitter.
Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately,” Thune said in a statement.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
“I will not vote for Donald Trump,” Ayotte said on Twitter. “I wanted to be able to support my party’s nominee, chosen by the people because I feel strongly that we need a change in direction,” Ayotte said in the statement. “However, I’m a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women.”
Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE)
“The comments made by Mr. Trump were disgusting and totally unacceptable under any circumstance. It would be wise for him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party’s nominee,” Fischer told the Omaha World-Herald.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
“I thought it was appropriate to respect the millions of voters across the country who chose Donald Trump as the Republican Party nominee,” Portman said Saturday night. “While I continue to respect those who still support Donald Trump, I can no longer support him.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
“As a woman, a mother, and a grandmother to three young girls, I am deeply offended by Mr. Trump’s remarks, and there is no excuse for the disgusting and demeaning language,” Capito said in a statement in USA Today. “Women have worked hard to gain the dignity and respect we deserve. The appropriate next step may be for him to reexamine his candidacy.”
U.S. House of Representatives
Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV)
“We deserve a candidate that can ask themselves at the end of the day ‘did I live my life with honor, and do I deserve to be elected President of the United States?'” Heck said during a rally that was aired live on MSNBC. “I believe our only option is to formally ask Mr. Trump to step down.”
Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL)
“Donald Trump’s behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I won’t vote for him,” Roby said in a statement.
Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL)
“It is now clear Donald Trump is not fit to be President of the United States and cannot defeat Hillary Clinton. I believe he should step aside and allow Governor Pence to lead the Republican ticket,” Byrne said according to a statement posted by a local NBC affiliate.
Rep. Cresent Hardy (R-NV)
“The disrespect that I’ve heard in recent videotapes …” Hardy said at a rally in Nevada, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I will no longer support the guy at the head of the ticket for the Republican nominee.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)
“I’m out. I can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. It is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine,” Chaffetz said during an interview with Utah’s Fox 13 News Friday.
Rep. Rodney Davis (R-MO)
“As parents of a teenage daughter and teen twin boys, my wife and I teach them to respect women and that they will be judged by their words and actions,” Davissaid, in a statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO)
“I have committed my short time in Congress to fighting for the most vulnerable in our society. As a strong and vocal advocate for victims of sex trafficking and assault, I must be true to those survivors and myself and condemn the predatory and reprehensible comments of Donald Trump,” Wagner said in a statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I withdraw my endorsement and call for Governor Pence to take the lead so we can defeat Hillary Clinton.”
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
“As Americans we are faced with two strikingly bad choices: Donald Trump, who has abused women, and Hillary Clinton who has enabled the abuse of women. It’s all wrong. For my part, I ask that Donald Trump step aside and allow Mike Pence to become the Republican nominee,” Fortenberry said according to a statement in the Omaha World-Herald.
Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ)
“I am appalled that he would brag about violating a woman’s physical boundaries. As a husband and father of two daughters, I denounce his comments and the behavior that it incites,” Garrett said in a statement, “I believe that Mike Pence would be the best nominee for the Republican Party to defeat Hillary Clinton.”
Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL)
“As the father of three young sons, I don’t want my boys growing up in a world where the President of the United States is allowed to speak or treat women the way Donald Trump has,” Rooney said in a statement Saturday, according to the Palm Beach Post. “My greatest responsibility in life is to try and be a good husband and father. If I support him for President, I will be telling my boys that I think it’s okay to treat women like objects — and I’ll have failed as a dad. Therefore, I can no longer support Donald Trump for President and will not be voting for him or Hillary Clinton.”
Not to mention, Mike Lee, Mark Kirk, Ron Johnson, and Ben Sasse.
ETA:
And now John McCain. This is, as always, good news for John McCain!
These cowards dumped your guy in his hour of need now it’s up to you to dump them
Dumping Trump at this point doesn’t make up for supporting him for the past several months. Supporting him made you a bigot, because it was clear to anyone who cared to look that he was an amoral scumbag. Dumping him makes you a cowardly bigot who would rather fake surprise than take responsibility for your actions.
"Roy Blunt Stands with Trump": Go get him, Democrats!
"Ayotte and Heck Abandon Trump": Go get 'em, Centipedes!
Can we all just agree that no matter what happens, we will not let the GOP pass off this whole Trump debacle as some one-off perfect storm nonsense that they can just dismiss with the wave of a hand?
This election is a goddamn embarrassment to the United States of America, and it did not happen this way by accident. This, like so many problems in recent years, is a GOP creation, pure and simple. Now they think they can just wash their hands of their nominee? You can’t put the feces back in the tube after you’ve brushed your teeth with it.