National articles include the following:
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/utah-politicians-unite-behind-donald-trump-exit-n662326
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/10/08/sen-mike-lee-urges-trump-to-quit-as-utah-republicans-flee-from-their-presidential-nominee/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/10/07/ryan-mcconnell-silent-on-lewd-trump-video/
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/gop-piles-donald-trump-over-remarks-women-n662276
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-widely-condemned-republican-leaders-legislators-n662446
Utah's own Deseret News ( http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865664314/Utah-political-leaders-condemn-Trumps-vile-comments-in-video.html?pg=all )reported the following:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/10/08/sen-mike-lee-urges-trump-to-quit-as-utah-republicans-flee-from-their-presidential-nominee/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/10/07/ryan-mcconnell-silent-on-lewd-trump-video/
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/gop-piles-donald-trump-over-remarks-women-n662276
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-widely-condemned-republican-leaders-legislators-n662446
Utah's own Deseret News ( http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865664314/Utah-political-leaders-condemn-Trumps-vile-comments-in-video.html?pg=all )reported the following:
Gov.
Herbert, Rep. Chaffetz won't support Trump following 'despicable' comments
Sen. Mike Lee asks Trump to "step
aside."
Published: Oct. 7,
2016 7:50 p.m. Updated: 31 minutes ago
Related Links
SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert
withdrew his support for Donald Trump on Friday, calling the Republican
presidential candidate's comments about women in a 2005 video "beyond
offensive and despicable."
"While I cannot vote for Hillary
Clinton, I will not vote for Trump," Herbert posted on Twitter.
The governor previously said he would
vote for Trump, though he insisted it was not an endorsement.
Herbert was among several of Utah's
political leaders and prominent figures with ties to the state Friday to
condemn comments made by Trump in the leaked video.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee distributed a video
message via Facebook and asked Trump to "step aside" and drop out
of the election campaign..
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, announced
that he will no longer support Trump, saying he found the candidate's comments
to be "abhorrent and inexcusable."
"I'm out," he said. "I
can no longer endorse Donald Trump to become president of the United
States."
According to CNN, Chaffetz is the first
sitting Republican member of Congress to withdraw his support for Trump.
Utah offers a diverse
set of communities with each one offering something different. This short video
tells about three of Utah's great communities and what they offer. What makes
you like your Utah community?
Chaffetz also took issue with Trump's
response to the video being made public.
"He was apologizing for getting
caught. He wasn't apologizing for his behavior," he said.
Chaffetz said supporting Democrat
Hillary Clinton for president is not an acceptable option, and he expressed
support for Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, to replace the
billionaire businessman as the Republican nominee.
"I wish Mike Pence was at the top
of the ticket," he said. "We'll have to see how things play
out."
Rep. Mia Love, who along with Sen. Lee
are the only members of Utah's all-Republican congressional delegation to never
endorse Trump, called the candidate's comments "disappointing and
disgusting," according to her campaign manager, Dave Hansen.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, labeled
Trump's comments "offensive and disgusting," though he did not
withdraw his endorsement of the GOP candidate.
"There is no excuse for such
degrading behavior," Hatch said in a statement. "All women deserve to
be treated with respect."
Stewart and fellow GOP Rep. Rob Bishop
also have endorsed Trump in the presidential race.
Mitt Romney, the Republican Party's
presidential nominee in 2012, took to Twitter to respond to the video, which
showed Trump boasting about groping women and trying to have sex with them.
"Hitting on married women? Condoning
assault?" Romney tweeted. "Such vile degradations demean our wives
and daughters and corrupt America's face to the world."
Trump's comments were made during a
conversation with Billy Bush, who at the time hosted entertainment news TV show
"Access Hollywood." The Associated Press reported that it appears Trump didn't know his microphone was on.
Evan McMullin, a Utah native and BYU
graduate who is running an independent campaign for the presidency, called on
Republican leaders to ask for Trump to drop out of the race.
"We all need to ask our other
elected leaders who are supporting Donald Trump, or who are remaining silent,
to reject him and to call for his stepping out of the race, or at least the
rejection of this kind of abuse of women and disrespect for marriage,"
McMullin told KSL Newsradio's Drew Steele on "Your Voice, Your Vote."
Utah Lt. Governor Spencer Cox, who has
frequently denounced Trump, also expressed his outrage on Twitter. Cox quoted a
line from "To Kill A Mockingbird" that he said "seems appropriate
today."
"I've got to live with myself. The
one thing that doesn't abide majority rule is a person's conscience,"
character Atticus Finch is quoted in the book.
Cox also tweeted a text from his wife
calling Trump a "repugnant, evil, vomit-inducing nominee."
Former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. also
called for Pence to replace Trump as the Republican nominee, according to the
Salt Lake Tribune.
"In a campaign cycle that has been
nothing but a race to the bottom — at such a critical moment for our nation —
and with so many who have tried to be respectful of a record primary vote, the
time has come for Gov. Pence to lead the ticket,” Huntsman told the Tribune.
Attempts to reach Huntsman, who
recently endorsed Trump, were not successful Friday.
House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper,
who has previously endorsed Trump, said in a statement that he feels
"anger and disgust" at the nominee's words, but he stopped short of
withdrawing his support for the billionaire businessman.
"The emotions I'm feeling this
evening range from shock and bewilderment to anger and disgust," Hughes
said in his statement.
"To say I am disappointed would be
a gross understatement. I share the same questions and concerns that the rest
of this country has. In the coming debate, there will undoubtedly be questions
about what we learned today. My hope is that there will be a sincere apology
and an accounting for these statements," Hughes said.
Lauren Littlefield, executive director
of the Utah Democratic Party, said Trump's remarks in the video "take
things to a new low" for a candidate "not fit for the
presidency."
"We commend Gary Herbert, Greg
Hughes, Jason Chaffetz, Jon Huntsman Jr. and the other Trump supporters who are
now reconsidering their stance on the presidential race. We encourage all
Utahns to do the same," Littlefield said in a statement.
"Our vote in this election is too
important to cast based solely out of party loyalty. Donald Trump does not
represent Utah values, and we urge voters to study the candidates and the
issues both at the top of the ticket and all the way down the ballot,” she
said.
Charlene Albarran, a Democrat
challenging Stewart in Utah's 2nd Congressional District, called Trump's
statements "lewd and gross" and pointed to such "sexism" as
a reason more women are needed in leadership positions.
"This demeaning treatment can no
longer be tolerated," Albarran said in a statement. "We need more
women in politics. We need more women in authoritative positions who will
demand respect."
[My own reaction: The revelations about Trump are appalling and deeply troubling--but not really surprising, as John Kasich has said. The thought that someone capable of such things would even manage successfully to run for office is shocking.
On the other hand, I find it encouraging that the reaction against what he said has been so strong, particularly among Utah politicians--but also generally. What I find encouraging is that people still care and are still shocked when faced with horrendously evil things of this sort.
I had been worrying that many good people were starting to become tolerant of Trump's bad behavior--were beginning to persuade themselves to call good evil and evil good. It's reassuring to know that--having learned that Trump had crossed a line of this magnitude of seriousness--many have decided they can no longer try to justify him.]
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[My own reaction: The revelations about Trump are appalling and deeply troubling--but not really surprising, as John Kasich has said. The thought that someone capable of such things would even manage successfully to run for office is shocking.
On the other hand, I find it encouraging that the reaction against what he said has been so strong, particularly among Utah politicians--but also generally. What I find encouraging is that people still care and are still shocked when faced with horrendously evil things of this sort.
I had been worrying that many good people were starting to become tolerant of Trump's bad behavior--were beginning to persuade themselves to call good evil and evil good. It's reassuring to know that--having learned that Trump had crossed a line of this magnitude of seriousness--many have decided they can no longer try to justify him.]
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