“When Mr. Trump attacks women and demeans the women in our nation and in our society, that is a point where I just have to part company,” the veteran Arizona lawmaker said Monday night, during his Senate debate with Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick on PBS.
McCain was reacting to a 2005 audio recording released last week in which Trump used vulgar language and suggested he had kissed and groped women. Dozens of Republican politicians have rescinded their endorsements of the nominee. Some are calling for Trump to step aside and allow vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence or someone else to be at the top of the GOP ticket.
The Arizona Republic reported that on more than 60 occasions during the debate, Kirkpatrick mentioned McCain’s previous endorsement of Trump. The senator, while he did not campaign for the nominee, continued to support him even after Trump ridiculed him. In July 2015, the candidate declared that McCain is “not a war hero” even though he spent more than five years imprisoned in North Vietnam.
The GOP is finding itself divided over its response to Hurricane Harvey, particularly given the federal response to Hurricane Sandy.