Trump: “I’m not quitting”
Trump told the Wall Street Journal there is “zero chance” he’ll quit. Pence, meanwhile, said he was highly “offended” by Trump’s remarks and will not defend his running mate. Other GOP politicians called on Trump to step aside, worried about how his candidacy might affect down-ticket Republicans.
There does not, however, appear to be a legal way of replacing Trump without his consent. Even should he agree to it – and he is emphatically not – the procedure for doing so is unclear. Election material has already been printed with his name upon it and in some States advance voting is underway.
On the lurid recording from 2005, made by NBC’s ‘Access Hollywood’ and first released yesterday by the Washington Post, Trump said he likes to “grab” women “by the pussy” without their consent. He talks about trying, and failing, to “fuck” a married woman not identified on the tape, and talks about kissing women whenever he wants because he is a “star.”
When the recording went public yesterday, Trump initially released a statement to downplay it but as negative reaction grew he posted a midnight video in which he apologized and yet called the recording “nothing more than a distraction” to the election process. He also attacked Bill Clinton in his video.
Despite the video apology calls from his own party to resign continued but Trump says no. “I’d never withdraw. I’ve never withdrawn in my life,” the self-proclaimed billionaire told The Washington Post Saturday morning. “No, I’m not quitting. I have tremendous support.”
Republicans demand Trump go
Trump, nearly even in polls with Democrat Hillary Clinton by the first presidential debate before falling well-back since, was scheduled to appear with House Speaker Paul Ryan today at a rally in Wisconsin, a long-awaited event intended to heal the rift between the two. But Ryan cancelled Trump’s appearance and said he was “sickened” by his words.
Trump, with a history of calling women names and making sexist comments, has been asked to step aside by some 20 high-ranking members of the party. By early evening at least one third of sitting GOP senators and many other party luminaries had abandoned him in a stampede of defections unprecedented in U.S. political history.
By Saturday afternoon, 8 Republican members of Congress, including Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama, had demanded he go. Roby said she’d been disappointed with his “antics throughout the campaign” but supported him as she felt it was best for the country and the GOP.
“Now,” she added. “It is abundantly clear that the best thing for our country and for our party is for Trump to step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket.”
In the midst of today’s brouhaha, Trump tweeted it has “certainly been an interesting 24 hours.” He and Clinton will face off tomorrow evening at 9 p.m. ET at Washington University in St. Louis in their second presidential debate.
Trump spent the day preparing and tweeting.
