RNC chairman Reince Priebus has hinted that the Donald Trump campaign might be finished, fueling rumors that the Republican party will oust their Presidential nominee.
Priebus condemned Trump’s sexually explicit comments about women on Friday, saying “No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever.”
Politico.com reports:
The statement, released after 7 p.m. Friday, came as the revelations about the Republican nominee’s crude remarks added a newly urgent threat to his candidacy.
In the recording, Trump boasts about his sexual prowess and describes grabbing women by the genitals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5VT4j0ORZc
Democrats seized on the comments, first reported in the Washington Post, to renew their arguments that Trump is sexist and unfit to be president, while even many members of his own party said they could not defend them.
Trump, for his part, released a statement shortly after the Post published its report Friday afternoon, apologizing for any offense they caused, but not for the comments themselves.
Since Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee this spring, Priebus has acted as one of his chief defenders, attempting to rally the party’s resistant rank-and-file members to his candidacy. Still, some have refused to support Trump, a New York businessman already previously known for making inflammatory statements about groups including women, Muslims and immigrants.
Priebus was originally slated to appear with Trump at a local Republican Party event in Wisconsin on Saturday. But in a statement late Friday, Trump said that he would be skipping the event and that Priebus was needed to help him get ready for Sunday’s presidential debate.
“Governor Mike Pence will be representing me tomorrow in Wisconsin,” Trump said. “I will be spending the day in New York in debate prep with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Jeff Sessions, and then flying to St. Louis on Sunday for the 2nd Presidential Debate.”
Trump’s statement landed minutes after House Speaker Paul Ryan said he was “sickened” by comments of his party’s nominee.
“Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified,” Ryan added. “I hope Mr. Trump treats this situation with the seriousness it deserves and works to demonstrate to the country that he has greater respect for women than this clip suggests. In the meantime, he is no longer attending tomorrow’s event in Wisconsin.”
Sean Adl-Tabatabai