A defiant Donald Trump insisted Saturday he would “never” abandon his White House bid, rejecting a growing backlash from Republican leaders across the nation who disavowed the GOP’s presidential nominee after he was caught on tape bragging about predatory advances on women.
Trump’s own running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, declared he could neither condone nor defend Trump’s remarks, which sparked widespread panic inside Trump Tower and throughout the Republican Party with early voting already underway exactly one month before Election Day.
Even as the fallout deepened fractures in a party already torn about Trump, many remained loyal to the political outsider.
Wisconsin voter Jean Stanley donned a shirt proclaiming “Wisconsin Women Love Trump” and called House Speaker Paul Ryan a “traitor” for denouncing the presidential contender’s comments.
“He’s a real human,” Stanley said of the New York businessman, surrounded by Trump supporters at the Wisconsin rally where he and Pence were scheduled to appear before the videotape emerged.
Ryan and Priebus did not join a chorus of GOP officeholders from Utah to Alabama to New Hampshire who decided the former reality television star’s bombshell was too much to take. More than a dozen Republicans – senators, congressmen and sitting governors – announced Saturday they would not vote for Trump. Many went farther and called on him to quit the race altogether.
“I thought supporting the nominee was the best thing for our country and our party,” Alabama Rep. Martha Roby said in a statement. “Now, it is abundantly clear that the best thing for our country and our party is for Trump to step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket.”
His party in chaos, Trump spent Saturday with a close circle of advisers in his campaign’s midtown Manhattan headquarters.
Most of his staff and network of supporters were left in the dark about the fast-moving developments. Conference calls were canceled and prominent supporters were given no guidance about how to respond to the explosive development, according to a person close to the Trump operation. The person insisted on anonymity, lacking the authority to discuss internal campaign matters publicly.
Trump addressed the dire situation Saturday with a light-hearted tweet: “Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!”
He later tweeted he would not yield the GOP nomination under any circumstances: “The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly – I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN!”
The political firestorm was sparked by a 2005 video obtained and released Friday by The Washington Post and NBC News. In the video, Trump, who was married to his current wife at the time, is heard describing attempts to have sex with a married woman. He also brags a
“When you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything,” Trump says in the video. He adds seconds later: “Grab them by the p––. You can do anything.” He said of his impulse to kiss beautiful women: “I don’t even wait.”
He apologized in a video statement released by his campaign after midnight early Saturday morning.
Melania Trump said she hoped people would accept her husband’s apology “as I have.”
Trump said, “I was wrong and I apologize,” but also defiantly dismissed the revelations as “nothing more than a distraction” from a decade ago. Foreshadowing a likely attack in Sunday night’s presidential debate, he also suggested that rival Hillary Clinton has committed greater sins against women.
“I’ve said some foolish things,” Trump said. “But there’s a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims.”