After months of pledging support for presidential nominee Donald Trump, Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte reversed course Saturday, saying she will not vote for the New York businessman and instead will write-in his GOP running mate Mike Pence for president.
“I wanted to be able to support my party’s nominee, chosen by the people, because I feel strongly that we need a change in direction for our country,” Ayotte, said in a statement. “However, I’m a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women.”
Ayotte’s comments come a day after the Washington Post released video footage that shows Trump in 2005 making crude and sexually charged comments about groping women.
On Friday night, Ayotte called Trump’s remarks “totally inappropriate and offensive.” But by Saturday afternoon she had rescinded her support entirely.
Ayotte has long said she would support Trump, but not endorse him. The stance has earned ridicule from Democrats, who have criticized Ayotte for not picking a side.
The first-term Republican is engaged in a competitive re-election bid against Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan. Polls show the race locked in a dead-heat, and the top-of-the-ticket has played a major role in the contest.
Hassan criticized Ayotte’s announcement is “far too little and far too late.”
“For months, Kelly Ayotte stood by Trump as he demeaned women, minorities, people with disabilities, Gold Star families, and was deemed a danger to our national security, even going so far as saying he should ‘absolutely’ be a role model for children,” said Hassan, the state’s two-term governor, in a statement. “What Kelly Ayotte doesn’t seem to understand is the chance to show courage has long passed, and her hollow words today reveal as much about her own character as they do Donald Trump’s.”
Ayotte is one of several Republican senators, including Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, who pulled back from Trump Saturday. Some went even further, calling on Trump to pull out of the contest entirely.
“I respectfully ask you, with all due respect, to step aside. Step down, allow someone else to carry the banner of these principles… rather than weighing down the American people,” Utah Sen. Mike Lee said in a video posted Friday to Facebook. Ayotte has not called on Trump to step aside, but said she will support Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence, the governor of Indiana.
On the 2005 video, Trump describes trying to have sex with a married woman. He also brags about women letting him kiss and grab them because he is famous.
“When you’re a star they let you do it,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”
He adds seconds later, “Grab them by the p—-. You can do anything.”
Trump offered a half-hearted apology shortly after the video was released, saying he was sorry “if anyone was offended.” Only hours later, after the scope of the damage became clear, did he release a taped video statement that appeared on his Facebook page early Saturday morning.
“I’ve said some foolish things,” the Republican presidential nominee said. “But there’’s a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women.”
(This post will be updated. Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307 or amorris@cmonitor.com)