Trump Tapes
Trump Vows to Stay in the Race Amid Calls to Drop Out
The G.O.P. nominee is refusing to throw in the towel.
By Abigail Tracy
By Drew Angerer/Getty.
Donald Trump is unperturbed by the growing deluge of calls from his fellow Republicans to drop out of the presidential race after the release of a lewd audio recording from 2005, wherein the G.O.P. nominee described an attempt to seduce a married woman and made a number of repugnant comments about the treatment of women. But despite his party's pleas to leave the race and let his running mate Mike Pence lead the ticket, Trump has vowed to remain.
"I'd never withdraw I've never withdrawn in my life," Trump said during a phone call with Robert Costa of The Washington Post. The candidate asserted that he has "tremendous" support and that his rival Hillary Clinton is "so flawed as a candidate." In a somewhat genuine attempt at honesty, Trump seemed to suggest that his recent, profound troubles were less severe than they would be were he facing a more popular challenger.
When asked about the number of G.O.P. denunciations of his candidacy since the tape's release, from John McCain to Mitt Romney and representatives of the far right element of the party,Trump was resolute in his convictions. He defiantly told the Post, "People are calling and saying, 'Don't even think about doing anything else but running," and added, "You have to see what's going on. The real story is that people have no idea the support. I don't know how that's going to boil down but people have no idea the support."
Within hours of the Post's publication of the conversation between Trump and Access Hollywood's Billy Bush on Friday, countless Republicans denounced the remarks, and a number rescinded their endorsements of the bombastic New York billionaire. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said he was "sickened" by Trump's statements about women and asked his party's standard bearer not to attend a scheduled campaign event on Saturday. Pence was originally supposed to go instead, but The Hill reports that the Republican Vice Presidential candidate—who was reportedly "beside himself" after listening to the audio—has since pulled out of the event. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell characterized Trump's remarks as "unacceptable in any circumstance" and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus, who has been forced into an uncomfortable role of Trump apologist for months, argued "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner," according to Politico. And conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt called for Trump to exit the race for the "benefit of the country, the party, and his family," on Twitter.
Early on Saturday, Trump lukewarmly apologized for the remarks in a 90 second video. "I've said and done things that I regret and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows those words don't reflect who I am," he said, before adding, "I said it, I was wrong and I am sorry."
Abigail Tracy is a national political reporter at Vanity Fair.
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