Rep. Jason Chaffetz will vote for Donald Trump
Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, one of the first House Republicans to withdraw his endorsement for Donald Trump after the businessman’s lewd 2005 tapes surfaced, is now saying he’ll vote for the Republican nominee.
The House Oversight committee chairman took to Twitter to announce his ballot choice, with the caveat that he “will not defend or endorse” Trump.
The reason? Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, he said, was just “that bad.”
I will not defend or endorse @realDonaldTrump, but I am voting for him. HRC is that bad. HRC is bad for the USA.
— Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) October 27, 2016
When the “Access Hollywood” recording first came out, where Trump could be heard boasting about his sexually aggressive moves and saying that because he was a celebrity he could just “grab [women] by the p****,” Chaffetz almost immediately retracted his statement of support for Trump.
“I’m out,” he told local news channel Fox 13. “I can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. It is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine.”
Later, after Trump issued his video apology that weekend, Chaffetz was not dissuaded from his opinion. “I hope he’s sincere,” he told MSNBC. “I really do. But I just -- having read and seen and heard what Mr. Trump said, albeit ten-plus years ago, I just -- I can’t endorse that person. I can’t do it.”
Since then, nearly a dozen women have come forward to claim that Trump has groped, kissed, and made other unwanted sexual advances towards them.
Trump has repeatedly denied the allegations, even threatening to sue his accusers and the media outlets that published their accounts following the election.