Donald Trump may have caused controversy for questioning Sen. John McCain’s service to our country last year, but the Arizona Republican still supported the candidacy of Donald Trump until his 2005 remarks about then-Access Hollywood’s Nancy O’Dell, which were captured on a hot mic, were released on Friday. As a result, McCain is rescinding his support for Mr. Trump. McCain had said he would support the nominee of his party, despite differences on policy. Yet, these remarks by Trump seem to be the last straw. In fact, for many Republicans, Trump’s comments about O’Dell are just too indefensible for them to stand by him. McCain says that he and his wife will write in a “good conservative Republican” for president. They will not vote for Hillary Clinton:
Breaking News: Senator John McCain withdrew his support for Donald Trump over his "demeaning comments" https://t.co/1z9G6OQ4OZ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 8, 2016
“In addition to my well known differences with Donald Trump on public policy issues, I have raised questions about his character after his comments on Prisoners of War, the Khan Gold Star family, Judge Curiel and earlier inappropriate comments about women. Just this week, he made outrageous statements about the innocent men in the Central Park Five case.“As I said yesterday, there are no excuses for Donald Trump’s offensive and demeaning comments in the just released video; no woman should ever be victimized by this kind of inappropriate behavior. He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences.
“I have wanted to support the candidate our party nominated. He was not my choice, but as a past nominee, I thought it important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set. I thought I owed his supporters that deference.
“But Donald Trump’s behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy. Cindy, with her strong background in human rights and respect for women fully agrees with me in this.
“Cindy and I will not vote for Donald Trump. I have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate and we will not vote for Hillary Clinton. We will write in the name of some good conservative Republican who is qualified to be President.”
In 2005, Trump went into detail with then-Access Hollywood host Bill Bush about how he tried to sleep with the married O’Dell, while also noting how famous women allow you to do anything to them, even grope them. In July of 2015, Trump said of McCain, “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” These comments also drew condemnation, which is now being used by the Clinton campaign to attack Trump.