Donald Trump rebuffed calls from prominent members of his party on Saturday that he quit the US race, in the wake of the leakage of a tape, in which he made vulgar remarks about women 11 years ago,
“I did try and fuck her. She was married,” Trump said about one woman, before discussing his attraction to others.
“I just start kissing them,” he said. “And when you’re a star they let you do it.”
“Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything,” Trump said.
Although Trump apologised for the remarks in a hastily prepared video, the leak only made him to lose more Republican support.
House Speaker Paul Ryan disinvited Trump to a scheduled appearance on Saturday afternoon in Wisconsin. Pence declined to speak in his place.
Senators Kelly Ayotte, Mark Kirk, Jeff Flake, John Thune, Mike Crapo, Shelley Moore Capito and Mike Lee; House members Jason Chaffetz, Mia Love, Joe Heck, Bradly Byrne, Martha Roby and Barbara Comstock; and Governors John Kasich, Dennis Daugaard and Gary Herbert all said they were dumping Trump.
Additionally, former presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Carly Fiorina also called on Trump to quit.
Capito, of West Virginia, called his remarks “disgusting and demeaning.”
Chaffetz of Utah, one of Clinton’s fiercest critics, retracted his endorsement of Trump, telling CNN he would not be able to look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye if he voted for him.
Trump huddled on Saturday afternoon in Trump Tower with senior advisors, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
He threatened, again, to focus his attacks on the infidelities of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, saying he would talk more about the pasts of both Clintons with only a month until the Nov. 8 election.
Trump has dismissed questions about his own marital infidelities as irrelevant.
“Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize,” Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page.
The video overshadowed the publication of excerpts of Clinton’s paid closed-door speeches made public on Friday by a hacker who claimed to have obtained them from the email account of John Podesta, the chairman of the Democrat’s campaign.
In the speeches, she advocates for more open borders and trade, a position she abandoned during the primary because it was untenable to Democratic progressives. Trump has repeatedly criticized her for her past support of free trade.
Trump has struggled to win over women voters, and the video is expected to further feed Democratic criticism about his past behaviour toward women.
Just as he lost supporters within the Republican camp, other prominent Republicans, however, indicated they would stick with him. Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, said they would continue to support him. – Reuters.
