After news of Donald Trump’s “deplorable” comments about sexual misconduct with women (which New York’s Rudy Giuliani dismissed as just “locker room talk”), the candidate took a huge blow to his presidential campaign and the Republican party as a while. As Election Day draws nearer, conservatives are still feeling the aftershocks of the PR bomb drop.
Former Republican Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has already made it known that Trump should withdraw from the race because he’s unfit to be president. Sen. John McCain and Gov. George Pataki of New York have also rescinded their support. Now, House Speaker Paul Ryan is the latest to pull back on public support for Trump.
According to the Washington Post, Ryan will no longer campaign with or defend Trump in the remaining weeks leading up to the election. He reportedly made the statement on a private call with House GOP lawmakers. Instead, his spokeswoman AshLee Strong says he will “spend the next month focused entirely on protecting our congressional majorities.” Ryan had already pulled out of a Wisconsin appearance with Trump, deciding instead to stand with his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
While hosting Fall Fest in his home state of Wisconsin, Ryan addressed a crowd of heckling and booing Trump supporters to stand by his comments criticizing the Republican candidate. “There is a bit of an elephant in the room, and it is a troubling situation,” he said, referencing his feelings of disgust towards the resurfaced tapes. “I’m serious, it is. I put out a statement last night, I meant what I said, and it’s still how I feel.”
At this time, although Ryan has vocalized his lack of public and campaign support, there is no confirmation that this means he will withhold a vote for Trump come Election Day. Watch the Fall Fest video below.
//www.washingtonpost.com/video/c/embed/b603a18e-8da0-11e6-8cdc-4fbb1973b506