Dem senators to GOP: Dump Trump
Senate Democrats slammed GOP lawmakers for continuing to support Donald Trump despite a litany of recent controversies, arguing it is time for them to drop support for their nominee.
{mosads}”Now is the time to admit that Donald Trump is unfit to be commander in chief,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) told reporters Friday during a conference call. “It’s time for Republicans to say enough. Enough of this.”
Stabenow said Friday that Republican lawmakers are trying to “have it both ways.”
“Either you stand with him and his outrageous, bigoted statements … or you stand with those who really believe in the strength of America,” she said. “Right now we have Republican candidates who want to be quiet, and not stand up to him.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) added, “Look, this idea that I support him but I don’t endorse him? That’s baloney. When you support somebody, you effectively endorse them.”
Democrats are seeking to increase pressure on Republicans to break with Trump, though their pressure may also make it more difficult for Republicans to do so. Friday’s press call follows comments this week by President Obama, who called Trump “unfit” to be commander in chief.
Rep. Richard Hanna, a retiring GOP lawmaker from New York, became the first Republican in Congress to say he would vote for Clinton over Trump this week.
Dozens of GOP lawmakers — including New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte — have tried to draw a line between supporting, and ultimately voting for, Trump and formally endorsing him.
A new poll this week suggested Trump was a significant drag on Ayotte’s own reelection campaign.
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who faces a tough race in Pennsylvania, indicated Friday that he is still “watching and waiting” on if he will ultimately support Trump. Toomey and his Democratic opponent, Katie McGinty, are in a dead heat, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polling.
“Pennsylvania voters are really quite sophisticated and they know for sure that Donald Trump is really in a category unto himself,” he told reporters. “So they will make their decision about the presidential race, and then they will make a completely separate decision about the person they want representing them in the Senate.”
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), one of the party’s most vulnerable lawmakers, is the only GOP incumbent to formally break with the party’s nominee. He has said he will write in a candidate for president.
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