You know it must be serious if Donald J. Trump, the billionaire reality TV host and Republican nominee of president, offers a public apology.
“I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize,” said Trump before launching into an attack on Hillary and Bill Clinton.
The apology comes after a recording of Trump using the words “fuck”, “bitch”, “tits”, “shit” and “pussy” appeared online.
It is the first apology after a year when Trump offended Mexicans, a Gold Star family, journalists, his own party and a federal judge of Mexican heritage. He also didn’t apologize for lewd comments he made about women’s breasts during guest appearances on Howard Stern’s radio show.
But the level of disgust shown toward women uncovered from a 2005 interview has led Utah’s Republican Gov. Gary Herbert to withdraw his support, calling Trump”offensive” and “despicable.” Herbert says he won’t vote for Hillary Clinton, but he also will not vote for Trump.
House Speaker Paul Ryan says he was “sickened” by Trump’s comments and canceled a campaign appearance with him that had been scheduled for tomorrow in Wisconsin.
Ryan, and other top Republican congressional leaders, are not answering the question whether they still back Trump — a clear sign that pressure is mounting for a public call for Trump to step down.
Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado has called on Trump to “step aside for the good of the country.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, a leading critic of Clinton on the House Benghazi committee, announced late Thursday he will not now vote for Trump.
Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, released a terse statement late Thursday: “No woman should ever be described in those terms or talked about in this manner. Ever.”
What’s at stake for Republicans, beyond the White House, is control of the U.S. Senate. Polls show Democrats are currently competitive in enough states to achieve 50 seats next month. With Trump’s vulgar comments aimed at women, even more seats could now be in jeopardy.
Nearly 100 evangelical leaders have signed onto a letter urging their fellow Christians to vote against Trump who they say “has fueled white American nationalism with xenophobic appeals and religious intolerance at the expense of gospel values, democratic principles, and important international relationships.”
In just a few hours time over 10,000 had endorsed the letter which was posted online.
Sen. Mark Kirk, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former New York Gov. George Pataki have all called on Trump to drop out of the race.
“Donald J. Trump is a malignant clown, unprepared and unfit to be president of the United States,” tweeted Kirk.
“In a campaign cycle that has been nothing but a race to the bottom, at such a critical moment for our nation, and with so many who have tried to be respectful of a record primary vote, the time has come for Governor Pence to lead the ticket,” said Huntsman.
Mitt Romney, the GOP nominee four years ago, tweeted, “Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt America’s face to the world.”
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush weighed in: “As the grandfather of two precious girls, I find that no apology can excuse away Donald Trump’s reprehensible comments degrading women.”
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has never endorsed Trump, said, “Make no mistake the comments were wrong and offensive. They are indefensible.”
Perhaps a tweet from longtime New Hampshire GOP operative Tom Rath sums up the attitude of a fast growing number of Republican strategists across the country:
“Go away. Go away,” wrote Rath. “Go far far away…..do not come back…ever.”