Conservatives have had to explain away a lot in the interest of supporting Donald Trump as the GOP nominee. After the Washington Post on Friday published audio of an extremely lewd conversation Trump had with a former “Access Hollywood” host in 2005, in which he made predatory comments, they had a much tougher time of it.
For some, the strategy was deflect, deflect, deflect, choosing to focus on what sins Democrats have committed or spinning Trump’s comments as locker room talk:
Your periodic reminder: Ted Kennedy killed a woman & was treated as a hero by the Democratic Party through his death in 2009.
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) October 7, 2016
Trump up 5 points among the ungrabbed.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) October 7, 2016
Really? “Flight logs show Bill Clinton flew on sex offender’s jet much more than previously known” https://t.co/Q2imJGo6Pz https://t.co/pGsRxvFiKU
— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) October 7, 2016
Considering Trump is not in prison for sexual assault, I’m guessing this was just talk and not something he made a habit of doing.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) October 7, 2016
This just in: Donald Trump is a flawed man! We ALL sin every single day. What if we had a “hot mic” around each one of us all the time?
— David Brody (@TheBrodyFile) October 7, 2016
Who knew it just took a Trump to make the left turn so conservative about sex!
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) October 7, 2016
For the #NeverTrump crowd and those who hadn’t already hopped on board the Trump train, on the other hand, the leaked audio was another reason to decry the party’s nominee:
I have six brothers, and three sons. This isn’t boys will be boys stuff. This is him celebrating his ability to sexually assault someone.
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) October 7, 2016
“But the Supreme Court!” you scream. Better tell Trump to get out of the race now.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) October 7, 2016
I hope this absolutely DEMOLISHES Trump. If this doesn’t, nothing can. If you’re a GOPer, I hope you vote Hillary, Johnson, or McMullin.
— Benji Backer (@BenjiBacker) October 7, 2016
This godforsaken election. This vile excuse for a nominee. I cannot find the humor in any of this.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) October 7, 2016
Trump folks:I know you’re upset about a changed America and you hate Hillary, but have an ounce of integrity and call out Trump forcefully.
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) October 7, 2016
Meh: Bawdy talk among dudes.
Worse: Bragging about trying to bang a married woman.
Repulsive: ‘I’m famous, so they’re chattel/playthings.’
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 7, 2016
America deserves far better than @realDonaldTrump
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) October 7, 2016
As for former Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren, it was a relief not to be responsible for analyzing such comments from the GOP nominee anymore:
My thought? I am glad I am taking time off 🙂 https://t.co/RA6DXOMVs9
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) October 7, 2016
