Second GOP lawmaker rescinds Trump endorsement

by Elliot Smilowitz - 10/08/16 10:04 AM ET

A second Republican House member has recanted her endorsement for Donald Trump in the wake of leaked tapes revealing the GOP presidential nominee’s vulgar talk about groping women.

{mosads}Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) on Saturday morning released a statement denouncing Trump.

“Donald Trump’s behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I won’t vote for him,” Roby said.

She said she was disappointed with Trump’s “antics” throughout the campaign and wanted to support the GOP’s nominee for the good of the party and country.

“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,” she said.

“Hillary Clinton must not be president, but, with Trump leading the ticket, she will be.”

Donald Trump’s behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I won’t vote for him.

Full statement: pic.twitter.com/Ge7GU1TSvm

— Rep. Martha Roby (@RepMarthaRoby) October 8, 2016

Roby, 40, in 2011 became one of the the first two women elected to Congress from Alabama in regular elections.

Roby’s statement came hours after Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) also unendorsed Trump in the wake of the leaked tapes.

“I’m out. I can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. It is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine,” Chaffetz said.

Sens. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) all called on Trump to withdraw from the GOP’s presidential ticket. Sasse and Lee never endorsed Trump, while Kirk briefly endorsed him before unendorsing in June.

The Washington Post on Friday published audio of Trump talking about how women let him “do anything” because he’s famous.

“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything.

“Grab them by the p—-,” Trump adds. “You can do anything.”

Trump released an apology video late Friday night, hours after the Washington Post first reported the leaked tapes. The GOP presidential nominee expressed regret, but defiantly attacked former President Bill Clinton for “abuse” of women, saying there’s a “big difference” between his words and Clinton’s actions.

Tags Bill Clinton Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Jason Chaffetz Mark Kirk Martha Roby Mike Lee