How are GOP women responding to Trump’s comments?
In April 2015, the Barbara Lee Family Foundation (BLFF) and the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) launched Presidential Gender Watch 2016, a project to track, analyze, and illuminate gender dynamics in the 2016 presidential election. With the help of expert scholars and practitioners, Presidential Gender Watch worked for 21 months to further public understanding of how gender influences candidate strategy, voter engagement and expectations, media coverage, and electoral outcomes in campaigns for the nation’s highest executive office. The blog below was written for Presidential Gender Watch 2016, as part of our collective effort to raise questions, suggest answers, and complicate popular discussions about gender’s role in the presidential race.
How are Republican women responding to the release of recorded remarks by Donald Trump in 2005 in which he disparaged and degraded women, and made reference to his ability to physically push himself upon women whom he finds attractive. We are tracking public statements or comments from the current slate of Republican women in the U.S. Congress and will update this page as new comments are released.
Republican Women Members of the U.S. House of Representatives (22)
Diane Black (R-TN)
No public comment yet
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Nothing since release, but this last week:
.@MarshaBlackburn: I think we would be well-served not to talk about @HillaryClinton‘s relationship with her husband #AMR @MSNBC
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) October 3, 2016
Susan Brooks (R-IN)
This is nowhere near the conduct Americans should expect from someone seeking the office of President.
— Susan W. Brooks (@SusanWBrooks) October 8, 2016
Donald Trump's words and the actions he described are reprehensible and disrespectful, and I am personally disgusted by this behavior.
— Susan W. Brooks (@SusanWBrooks) October 8, 2016
Barbara Comstock (R-VA) – Pulled endorsement
Donald Trump should step aside and allow our party to replace him..I cannot in good conscience vote for Trump. https://t.co/ExrJgblx7e #VA10
— Barbara Comstock (@BarbaraComstock) October 8, 2016
Renee Ellmers (R-NC)
Nothing since the release, but defended Trump’s 5am tweet last weekend:
On @MSNBC, Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) says that Trump is "setting the record straight" on former Miss Universe Alicia Machado
— Marianna Sotomayor (@MariannaReports) September 30, 2016
Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
No public comment yet
Kay Granger (R-TX)
No public comment yet
Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)
Read my statement on @realDonaldTrump here: pic.twitter.com/Y6SdtfVeV4
— Vicky Hartzler (@VickyHartzlerMO) October 8, 2016
Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA)
“For months I’ve left the door open for Donald Trump to earn my vote. That door has now slammed shut,” Herrera Beutler said in an email Saturday evening. She won’t be casting her vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, either. “I refuse to accept this is the best we can do. Both candidates have shown that they lack the character and temperament required for the highest office in the land and it is a sad state of affairs that these are our choices,” she said. Herrera Beutler said she will write-in a vote for House Speaker Paul Ryan, a person who would “serve this nation with honor,” she said.
Per The Columbian
Lynn M. Jenkins (R-KS)
“Donald Trump’s comments are disgusting, outrageous and wrong on so many levels. There is no place for anyone, anywhere to condone assault or promote undesired sexual advances. It doesn’t matter the place, it doesn’t matter the time – his words were offensive and backwards.”
Per CBS News
Rep. Mia Love called the video “disappointing and disgusting,” according to her campaign manager Dave Hansen. (That statement came after Love’s congressional office told 2News earlier Friday she had no comment.)
http://kutv.com/news/local/utah-lt-gov-says-leaked-video-makes-it-that-much-easier-not-to-support-trump
Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
“Mr. Trump has rightly apologized for his disgusting, decade-old comment about women. Because he had the good sense to choose Mike Pence as his running mate I still intend to vote for him, but I will be holding my nose and repeating to myself, “Supreme Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Court” as I vote. I fear for my freedom and our Nation’s future if Hillary Clinton is appointing Supreme Court Justices and running the federal government.”
Per AP
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
“”I have said before that I would not hesitate to voice my disagreement with Mr. Trump when he says something that I believe should not be part of our political dialogue. It is never appropriate to condone unwanted sexual advances or violence against women,” McMorris Rodgers, who represents Spokane and is the No. 4 Republican in the House, said in a prepared statement Friday evening. “Mr. Trump must realize that it has no place in public or private conversations.” A spokesman for McMorris Rodgers did not respond Friday when asked if she still intends to vote for him.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/mcmorris-rodgers-condemns-trumps-remarks-but-doesnt-say-if-shell-still-vote-for-him/
Martha McSally (R-AZ)
Trump's comments are disgusting. Joking about sexual assault is unacceptable. I'm appalled.
— Martha McSally (@MarthaMcSallyAZ) October 8, 2016
Candice Miller (R-MI)
“There is no excuse for Donald Trump’s comments. It happens to women a lot and I am dealing with it in my current campaign,” said Miller, who has endorsed Trump as the Republican nominee for president, but is “considering” withdrawing her support.
Per Macomb Daily
Kristi Noem (R-SD)
No one should ever talk about a woman - another person for that matter - in the repulsive way that Donald Trump did. Period.
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) October 8, 2016
Martha Roby (R-AL) – Pulled endorsement
Donald Trump's behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I won't vote for him.
Full statement: pic.twitter.com/Ge7GU1TSvm— Martha Roby (@MarthaRobyAL) October 8, 2016
Ileana Ros Lehtinen (R-FL)
As a woman, mother & grandmother, I categorically find that there are no excuses for Trump's degrading and obscene characterization of women
— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@RosLehtinenCamp) October 8, 2016
Elise Stefanik (R-NY)
This Facebook post is no longer available. It may have been removed or the privacy settings of the post may have changed.
Asked to clarify whether she still supports Trump, a spokeperson for Stefanik’s campaign said “her statement stands,” adding, “Her words are clear.” http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/32715/20161007/as-groping-controversy-grows-stefanik-maintains-support-for-trump
Ann Wagner (R-MO)
My statement on the Presidential race: pic.twitter.com/mDAx5cCC59
— Ann Wagner (@AnnLWagner) October 8, 2016
Jackie Walorski (R-MO)
Congresswoman Jackie Walorski [R-IN2] also released a statement overnight regarding Trump’s comments. “These vile comments are demeaning and indefensible. It is never appropriate to use such offensive language toward women, anywhere or anytime.”
http://wsbt.com/news/local/rep-walorski-calls-trumps-comments-vile
Mimi Walters (R-CA)
Rep. Mimi Walters , the only female Republican in the delegation and the sponsor of the Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights that was just signed into law, said in a statement that Trump must explain himself. “As a mother of two daughters, I condemn Donald Trump’s offensive and language about women. It was beyond inappropriate, and he needs to understand that he alone is accountable for his words and actions.”
Republican Women Members of the U.S. Senate (6)
Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
I will not vote for Donald Trump. Read my statement here: pic.twitter.com/F8zajgDZpg
— Kelly Ayotte (@KellyAyotte) October 8, 2016
Saturday Morning: Ayotte, who’s tried to keep her distance from Trump for months and who’s said she’ll vote for the GOP nominee but won’t endorse him, said in a statement provided to NH1 News “his comments are totally inappropriate and offensive.”
Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte called the GOP nominee’s comments “totally inappropriate and offensive,” while her... https://t.co/8YuFxWwF6e
— The Pulse of NH - News Talk Radio Network (@thepulseofnh) October 8, 2016
Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
MORE: Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.) calls for Trump to “reexamine his candidacy.” pic.twitter.com/vZ9sJkyZ8n
— Matthew Nussbaum (@MatthewNussbaum) October 8, 2016
Susan Collins (R-ME)
.@SenatorCollins says she can not support Donald Trumps candidacy. pic.twitter.com/yf9yZGDGgf
— Kaitlyn Connolly (@KConnollyTV) October 8, 2016
Senator Collins posted this editorial explaining why she could not support Trump in August 2016:
“I will not be voting for Donald Trump for president. This is not a decision I make lightly, for I am a lifelong Republican. But Donald Trump does not reflect historical Republican values nor the inclusive approach to governing that is critical to healing the divisions in our country.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/gop-senator-why-i-cannot-support-trump/2016/08/08/821095be-5d7e-11e6-9d2f-b1a3564181a1_story.html?utm_term=.3ebe00f4f48a
Joni Ernst (R-IA)
The comments DJT made are lewd & insulting. There is no excuse, and no room for such reprehensible and objectifying talk about anyone, ever.
— Joni Ernst (@joniernst) October 8, 2016
Deb Fischer (R-NE)
The comments made by Mr. Trump were disgusting and totally unacceptable under any circumstance. (1/2)
— Deb Fischer (@DebforNebraska) October 8, 2016
It would be wise for him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party's nominee. (2/2)
— Deb Fischer (@DebforNebraska) October 8, 2016
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
I cannot and will not support Donald Trump for president. He has forfeited the right to be our party’s nominee.
— Lisa Murkowski (@LisaForSenate) October 8, 2016
