U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump should think about withdrawing his candidacy in response to Friday’s release of the billionaire businessman’s vulgar and sexually charged comments that were caught on tape.
Capito released the following statement Saturday morning:
“As a woman, a mother, and a grandmother to three young girls, I am deeply offended by Mr. Trump’s remarks, and there is no excuse for the disgusting and demeaning language. Women have worked hard to gain the dignity and respect we deserve. The appropriate next step may be for him to reexamine his candidacy.”
West Virginia Senate Democratic Party Chairwoman Belinda Biafore also issued a statement Saturday on the Trump scandal:
“Donald Trump’s comments are unsettling and disturbing to say the least. His remarks are not only offensive, which sadly we’ve grown to expect, they describe unwarranted advances and assault toward women.
“Just because we expect this type of behavior from Trump doesn’t mean we should stand by and allow him to continue.”
West Virginia Senate President Bill Cole endorsed Trump for president earlier this year, saying Trump will be good for the Mountain State.
Cole released the following statement on Saturday: “As a father of two teenage daughters, I am offended by the remarks Donald Trump made several years ago. I know he has apologized, and I hope that it is a lesson that he will carry with him throughout the rest of the campaign and beyond. Demeaning women is never acceptable.”
The tape of Trump’s vulgar comments was first released by The Washington Post.
According to the Associated Press, Republican leaders from Utah to Alabama called on Trump to leave the presidential race as the party grappled with the fallout from Trump’s comments.
Trump said Saturday he won’t quit — “never.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan and various other high-profile Republicans refused to abandon their nominee, who has long faced criticism from within his own party, but never to this degree. Frustration turned to panic across the GOP with early voting already underway in some states and Election Day one month away.
Trump “is obviously not going to win,” Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse tweeted Saturday morning. “But he can still make an honorable move: Step aside & let Mike Pence try.”
But Trump said Saturday he won’t yield the GOP nomination under any circumstances. “Zero chance I’ll quit,” he told The Wall Street Journal. He told The Washington Post: “I’d never withdraw. I’ve never withdrawn in my life.” He claimed to have “tremendous support.”
In a videotaped midnight apology, Trump declared “I was wrong and I apologize” after being caught on tape bragging about aggressively groping women in 2005. He also defiantly dismissed the revelations as “nothing more than a distraction” from a decade ago and signaled he would press his presidential campaign by arguing that rival Hillary Clinton has committed greater sins against women.
“I’ve said some foolish things,” Trump said in a video posted on his Facebook page early Saturday. “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.”
