Donald Trump’s remarks about woman as heard in a newly released recording has resulted in Republicans to begin withdrawing support for their party’s presidential candidate, beginning with U.S. Rep Jason Chaffetz of Utah.
On Friday night Mr. Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, became the first Republican on Capitol Hill to publicly rescind his support for Mr. Trump’s White House run within hours of the release of a damning 2005 recording that captured the current presidential candidate making vulgar remarks about women.
“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,” Mr. Chaffetz told KSTU-TV in Salt Lake City.
“I can’t tell the good people of Utah that I endorse a person who acts like this,” he told CNN’s Don Lemon in a follow-up interview Friday.
The lawmaker publicly withdrew his support for Mr. Trump hours after a recording surfaced in which the candidate suggested he can sexually assault women because of his celebratory status.
“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. I just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything,” Mr. Trump told former Access Hollywood correspondent Billy Bush in the recently unearthed recording.
“Grab them by the p—y. You can do anything,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump weighed in on recording in a brief statement issued shortly after it’s release in which he deflected blame toward her Democratic opponent’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, and said he “apologize[s] if anyone was offended” by the 11-year-old remarks.
Speaking to CNN late Friday evening, Mr. Chaffetz said the candidate’s purported apology played a part in his decision to rescind support.
“My wife, Julia and I, we have a 15-year-old daughter,” the lawmaker told CNN’s Don Lemon. “Do you think I can look her in the eye and tell her that I endorsed Donald Trump for president when he acts like this and his apology? That was no apology, that was an apology for getting caught.”
Mr. Chaffetz’s decision to withdraw support for the GOP candidate is especially significant given the lawmaker’s past criticism of Mr. Trump’s Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, particularly with respect to her handling of the 2011 terror attack in Benghazi that occurred while she was at the helm of the U.S. State Dept.
Offended or not, however, he said he won’t be voting for Mrs. Clinton come Nov. 8 as a result of the recently leaked remarks.
A seemingly more sincere apology was released by Mr. Trump the form of a video statement early Saturday, but failed to prevent other Utah Republicans from pulling support for their presidential candidate. Governor Gary Herbert described the remarks as “beyond offensive [and] despicable” and said he won’t vote for Mr. Trump, while Rep. Chris Stewart called on Mr. Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, to take over the GOP ticket.
Mr. Trump had been leading Mrs. Clinton in Utah by an average of 15 points as of late, according to Real Clear Politics. Prior to securing the party’s nomination, he placed third when Utah held its caucus in March behind both Ted Cruz and John Kasich.
In the Senate, meanwhile, Republicans Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Mike Lee of Utah and Mark Kirk of Illinois all urged Mr. Trump to remove himself from the race in the aftermath of the audio’s release.
Mr. Trump “is obviously not going to win,” Mr. Sasse said on Twitter. “But he can still make an honorable move: Step aside & let Mike Pence try.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, said Mr. Trump will no longer appear at a rally scheduled there for Saturday, and will instead be represented by Mr. Pence. Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton are slated to debate each other in St. Louis on Sunday.
Aside from a tweet early Saturday morning that contained Mr. Trump’s video apology, the Twitter-addicted New York businessman had been silent on his official account since the controversy broke yesterday.
Mr. Trump Saturday morning broke the ice with a short tweet, quipping, “Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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