Death Throes

GOP Members Withdraw Support for Trump

More than a dozen Republicans pull endorsements.

Donald Trump is being bombarded with pulled endorsements and calls to drop out of the presidential race after a “disturbing” 2005 video showed him making lewd comments about grabbing women “by the pussy” on Friday. As of Saturday afternoon more than a dozen party members had pulled their endorsements from him over the video. The first two to jump ship were Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz. Chaffetz said Trump’s comments were “so over the top, it is not even acceptable in locker rooms.”

On Saturday, Carly Fiorina and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte followed suit, with Ayotte writing on Twitter that she could not support “a president who brags about degrading and assaulting women.” The number of those pulling support for Trump snowballed throughout the day on Saturday, with a full list including: Nevada Rep. Joe Heck, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard, South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, Alaska Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo. Alabama Rep. Martha Roby urged Trump to “step aside” and recanted her endorsement. Alabama Congressman Bradley Byrne also pulled support, saying Trump was “not fit to be President” and urging him to drop out of the race.