Some voters greeted prominent Republicans with boos and loud heckling at Saturday events, after the officials spoke out against the vulgar and predatory remarks Donald Trump made about women in a newly unearthed recording.
“Paul Ryan sucks!” Milwaukee resident Paul Anderson yelled at a fall festival in Elkorn, Wisconsin, where the House speaker addressed a crowd, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“You turned your back on us,” other hecklers shouted, breaking into chants of “We want Trump!”
Trump was originally supposed to appear with Ryan at the event. But Ryan disinvited Trump hours after the recording surfaced, releasing a statement saying he was “sickened” by the GOP nominee’s remarks. The joint appearance would have been Ryan’s first campaign event with Trump.
In Las Vegas, Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV), who’s running to replace Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), also was booed loudly as he read a statement calling for Trump to withdraw and be replaced by a candidate “with honor” who deserved to be president.
Video: Rep. Joe Heck, in close senate race in Nevada, calls on Trump to drop out as some in crowd boo him https://t.co/uHHVupSykb
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) October 8, 2016
This backlash came a day after the Washington Post published a video of Trump talking about groping women without their permission. In the 2005 clip from an “Access Hollywood” taping, Trump says on a hot mic that he used his celebrity status to force himself on women, kissing them and even grabbing them “by the pussy.”
The video has thrown the Republican Party into turmoil, with prominent elected officials including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the party’s 2008 presidential nominee, and Sen. John Thune (R-SD) withdrawing their endorsements or calling for Trump to drop out.
Even as party leaders distanced themselves from their own nominee, Trump vowed to stay in the race and his supporters lashed out at prominent GOPers’ lack of support for him.
At the fall festival on Saturday, Ryan only briefly acknowledged the “elephant in the room” at the start of his address before pivoting to a discussion of Republican priorities, like repealing Obamacare. Yet the crowd in Elkhorn wasn’t ready to move on, lashing out at the House speaker for leaving their candidate swinging in the wind so close to Election Day.
Local TV station WHAM reported that some attendees yelled “Shame! Shame!” at Ryan as he left the stage.
Ryan brings other Wisconsin Republicans up on stage to say goodbye, hecklers yell, “GOD BLESS TRUMP!”
“SEE YA PAUL! JACKASS!”
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) October 8, 2016
The basket of deplorables grew two sizes today.
That’s your party, Mr. Speaker! Hope you’re proud of your choices in life!
And out come the knives. This is why they all endorsed Trump and have stuck by him through all the hatred and lies. Because the reprobates who vote republican truly believe that Trump is right. They think that women are nothing more than a pussy and pair of tits. This is the true republican party and this is the true republican base.
Is it possible to OD on schadenfreude?
Good, hopefully they do get booed for trying to dump Trump. Their base wants Trump, even if they refuse to admit it…this is what they have sowed with their attacks on Obama and Democrats, and they now get to experience the base attacking them when they turn against the asshole they see as their standard bearer. In a just world, they will lose these voters, and their offices, due to this reaction.