Apparently convinced that his support base is intact, a defiant Donald Trump has rejected the growing demand by Republican lawmakers that he drop out of the presidential race, letting it be known that he will brazen it out to the bitter end.
“The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly – I will never drop out of the race, will never let my supporters down,” Trump tweeted even as more lewd tapes of his comments about women surfaced, triggering an escalating revolt by establishment Republicans against his candidacy.
As one who has had a running battle with Republican bigwigs for more than a year till he bagged the nomination in July, it was familiar turf for Trump as he went into attack mode over the weekend. “So many self-righteous hypocrites! Watch their poll numbers – and elections – go down,” he tweeted.
The beleaguered billionaire was on Sunday gearing up for the second presidential debate in St. louis, Missouri that had suddenly transformed itself into a do-or-die affair for him in the aftermath of the offensive tapes, with CNN coming out with its own compilation from his sexually-charged comments against women made on Howard Stern’s radio shows years ago.
In this new batch of recordings over a period of 23 years, Trump is heard commenting that he would “have no problem” having sex with 24-year-olds, that he “couldn’t care less” if he satisfies the women he sleeps with, that “it’s checkout time” once women reach the age of 35 and that he had engaged in three-way sex.
In the tapes from 1990s onwards, the discussion between Trump and the radio host deals with such issues as how often he had sex with his wife, and whether he could have “nailed” Princess Diana. On one show 10 years ago, Trump, answering a question from Stern, is even heard saying his daughter Ivanka did not have breast implants, adding: “She’s actually always been very voluptuous.”
Nearly 40 Republican members of Congress and Governors had disavowed Trump’s candidacy till Saturday evening. The list included a number of prominent Senators – John McCain, Rob Portman, John Thune, Kelly Ayotte, lisa Murkowski, Jeff Flake, Mark Kirk, Mark lee, Ben Sasse, Mike Krapo -- and a host of Representatives.
“I thought it important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set,” Mr. McCain said in a statement. “But Donald Trump’s behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy.”
Trump’s wife, Melania, sought to come to her husband’s rescue. “The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me,” she said in a statement, but maintained: “This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader.” The former Slovenian model appealed to the people to accept his apology.
And Trump’s vice-presidential running mate Mike Pence, finding himself in an awkward position, sought to make it clear that he was offended by the words and actions described by Trump in the video. “I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them,” he said in his statement, adding: “We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night.”
Despite the clamour for Trump’s departure, experts said it would be next to impossible to replace him on the ballot at this juncture, with the election less than 30 days away. The process if fraught with enormous political and legal challenges. Added to all this is the American practice of early voting that is already underway in many States.
Under the rules of the Republican National Committee, a replacement can be effected only if the presidential nominee quits, dies or is so ill or incapacitated that he or she can no longer serve. Changing the rules is regarded as logistically far too complex.