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With only 98 days left until the Election, Senate Republicans are desperate to talk about anything but Donald Trump. But as they continue to stand with Trump after his despicable attacks on a Gold Star family, vulnerable Senators and candidates are left with a slew of well-deserved headlines and a public rebuke from President Obama.
“And this is not just my opinion. I think what’s been interesting is the repeated denunciations of his statements by leading Republicans, including the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader and prominent Republicans like John McCain.
And the question I think they have to ask themselves is: If you were repeatedly having to say, in very strong terms, that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?
What does this say about your party that this is your standard bearer?
This isn’t a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily and weekly where they are distancing themselves from statements he’s making. There has to be a point where you say ‘this is not somebody I support for President of the United States.’”
Politico Pro’s Morning Score: GOP senators appalled by Trump’s comments, but none withdraw endorsements: Nearly every Republican senator facing a competitive reelection race condemned Donald Trump’s attacks on Khizr and Ghazala, the parents of a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq. At a bare minimum, the senators made it clear they disagreed with Trump. At a maximum, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) castigated Trump for defaming “those who are the best among us.” But none took the next step of withdrawing their endorsements or declaring they couldn’t support Trump in November.
New York Times (Editorial): Mr. Trump and Spineless Republicans
Mr. Trump’s divisive views helped him capture the Republican presidential nomination. And even as he creates a political whirlwind with each utterance, leading members of his own party haven’t the spine to rescind their support. Sure, some have come out with strong criticisms, but none have gone far enough. Repudiation of his candidacy is the only principled response.
…It’s hard to imagine, a year into the campaign, that Mr. Trump could ever set such an example. The truth is, it’s time for Mr. McCain and other Republican leaders to set an example for their party by withdrawing support for Mr. Trump.
Associated Press: Senate Republicans on the spot over Trump comments on Khan
Yet as Democrats were quick to point out, most of the Republicans criticizing Trump had already declared their plans to vote for him for president, and despite their collective outrage, none of them withdrew their support.
After Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump lashed out against the parents of a Muslim American war hero, many top Republicans are continuing to support him as their party’s standard-bearer while denouncing his offensive remarks.
Morning Consult: Trump’s Kerfuffle With Khans Draws Attention to Down-Ballot Discord
“But even with their tough talk, prominent Republicans are not backing down from their support of Trump, even after another another unforced error by the Republican nominee has put the party back on defense and left its candidates, yet again, having to defend his place at the top of the ticket.
Roll Call: The GOP’s New Trump Test
Trump’s pointed criticism of the parents of a slain American soldier, Khazir Khan and Ghazala Khan, who condemned Trump during last week’s Democratic National Convention, has left him falling in polls less than two weeks after he became the party’s new standard-bearer.
And it’s once again putting down-ballot Republicans in an unenviable position: Facing mounting demands from Democrats to say they’ll no longer support Trump or be labeled a fellow critic of a war hero’s family.
Washington Post: John McCain’s moment of truth
This leaves McCain, like other Republicans, simultaneously condemning Trump’s horrible rhetoric but nevertheless telling the country by virtue of his endorsement that Trump is fit to be president — and preferable to Hillary Clinton. This is cognitive dissonance on steroids.
…There is no escape for McCain and others. Either they think Trump is prepared and fit to be president — suggesting his repeated outbursts, overt bigotry, abject ignorance and incessantly lying are not disqualifying — or they believe his behavior to be so beyond the pale as to negate blind partisan loyalty. Right now they are saying the former. As things stand, they continue to put their own perceived political interests and party fidelity above principle and simple human decency.
Morning Joe: Joe Scarborough: “And this is the most disturbing part for me. Republicans like Paul Ryan, and even John McCain yesterday…will not take back their endorsement from somebody who is so detached from even the main stream, certainly the main stream of true conservatism. I don’t get it.”
MSNBC: McCain blasts Trump, but the condemnation comes with a catch
And yet, the Arizona senator has been consistent,maintaining his support for his party’s nominee, no matter how far Trump went. Today, McCain rebuked the Republican presidential hopeful once more, using unusually stark terms.
…It all sounds quite encouraging, right up until one notices what’s missing: the part in which McCain withdraws his support for Trump’s candidacy. It’s the part that doesn’t exist.
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