CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who has supported her party’s nominee for president, now says Donald Trump should take a hard look at his candidacy.
Her statement follows revelations of Trump’s lewd description of hitting on women, first reported by The Washington Post and obtained from a 2005 video of Trump speaking on a hot microphone.
My statement on Donald Trump’s comments: pic.twitter.com/jhPZT6yfv8
— Capito for WV (@CapitoforWV) October 8, 2016
Trump told The Washington Post on Sunday he would not consider withdrawing.
“I’d never withdraw. I’ve never withdrawn in my life,” Trump told The Washington Post in a phone call from his home in Trump Tower in New York. “No, I’m not quitting this race. I have tremendous support.”
Trump’s own running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, stated today “I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them.”
Trump had been scheduled to campaign in Wisconsin today with House Speaker Paul Ryan and Gov. Scott Walker, both Republicans, but Friday night Ryan issued a statement saying Trump would no longer be participating.
“I am sickened by what I heard today,” Ryan said in a statement. “Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified. I hope Mr. Trump treats this situation with the seriousness it deserves and works to demonstrate to the country that he has greater respect for women than this clip suggests. In the meantime, he is no longer attending tomorrow’s event in Wisconsin.”
More elected Republicans across the country came out today to say they can’t support Trump.
Heck and Capito. Striking.
— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) October 8, 2016
Another Trump supporter in West Virginia, Senate President Bill Cole, provided a statement to the Charleston Gazette-Mail criticizing Trump’s remarks. Cole, whose campaign for governor has aligned itself with Trump’s presidential campaign, did not suggest Trump should withdraw.
In the statement, Cole said, “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.”
Capito was a speaker at the Republican National Convention when Trump was nominated. She has offered her support of his positions on energy policy, but has distanced herself from some of his other positions, including his proposed Muslim immigration ban and his criticism of NATO.
Other Republican members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation criticized Trump’s behavior in the video but did not hint that he should withdraw from the race.
Congressman Alex Mooney, who represents the middle slice of West Virginia including Charleston and the Eastern Panhandle, stated that Trump’s comments were offensive: “As a husband and a father of two small girls I find the comments by Donald Trump offensive. I am glad he apologized.”
Congressman David McKinley, who represents the state’s northern counties, offered additional criticism.
“Donald Trump’s comments from over a decade ago were wrong then and they are wrong today,” McKinley stated. “His language and statements were both demeaning and distasteful, and they don’t represent my values. It’s now incumbent on him to show remorse and prove to the American people these comments don’t reflect his true values.”
Congressman Evan Jenkins, whose district is in southern West Virginia, issued an eight-word statement: “The comments are extremely demeaning and deeply offensive.”
Trump is set for his second debate against Hillary Clinton on Sunday evening in St. Louis.
Besides Trump and Clinton, West Virginia’s ballot will include Libertarian candidates Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, Mountain (Green) Party candidates Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka and Constitution candidates Darrell Lane Castle and Scott Bradley.
Evan McMullin, running as a conservative alternative to Trump, is an official write-in candidate in West Virginia.