CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito said Thursday on MetroNews “Talkline” that she still supports Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“Am I swallowing hard here because of his statements? Absolutely. Absolutely. But the choices aren’t good, they’re not perfect I would say. So I’m going to go ahead and support our Republican nominee,” Capito told “Talkline” host Hoppy Kercheval.
After a recording of a Trump conversation from several years ago surfaced last Friday where he bragged about groping women and made other lewd comments, Capito released a statement calling for Trump to “reexamine” his candidacy. Capito said she was deeply offended by the remarks and there was no excuse for “disgusting and demeaning” language toward women.
On Thursday’s “Talkline” interview, while sticking by her criticism of Trump, she made her support clear.
“I’m going to support the Republican nominee for president and that’s Donald Trump,” she said. “If I look at my alternative, which is Hillary Clinton, and her promise to put coal miners out of work, I just see what further damage that would be to our already struggling economy and I can’t go there. So I’m going to continue to support our ticket.”
Capito said she’s heard what other previous Trump supporters are planning to do on Nov. 8 but she said those alternatives would just help Clinton.
“A write-in vote for Mike Pence is a vote for Hillary Clinton. A vote for Gary Johnson is a vote for Hillary Clinton. People in West Virginia have been deeply harmed by policies she keeps advocating. I can’t hand her a vote and I’m not going to do it,” Capito said.
Capito still has concerns about Trump’s temperament to be president. It’s something she addressed with him during a meeting earlier this year, but she said Thursday, those concerns don’t outweigh her concerns about a Clinton administration.
“While I have deep questions a bout his temperament, I still think the alternative is one I cannot accept,” Capito said.
Trump is better positioned in his policies to help dig out West Virginia from its current position, she said.