The Senate’s no. 3 Republican is calling on Donald Trump to drop out of the presidential race following leaked audio of the GOP nominee making lewd sexual comments about women in 2005 .
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) tweeted on Saturday that Trump “should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately.”
Thune, Republican Conference Chairman and chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, joins a growing chorus of Republicans calling on Trump to be replaced by Pence on the GOP presidential ticket.
Trump on Saturday said there’s “zero chance” he will leave the race.
The top Republican in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), has not called for Trump to leave the race. Late Friday night, he issued a statement calling Trump’s remarks “repugnant and unacceptable in any circumstance.”
“As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape,” McConnell said in a statement.
On the tape, Trump boasts about his aggressive handling of women, who he said will let him do anything because he’s a celebrity.
– This story was updated at 1:24 p.m.