In a Facebook post published Saturday morning, former Republican presidential contender Carly Fiorina said what many GOP operatives have been thinking this entire weekend: Donald Trump needs to go.
“Today I ask Donald Trump to step aside and for the RNC to replace him with Gov. Mike Pence,” declared Fiorina.
Here’s the full Facebook post. She published the same declaration on Twitter shortly after:
Fiorina unequivocally drew distance from the scandal-ridden GOP nominee, stating flat-out that the man is unfit to lead.
“Donald Trump does not represent me or my party,” she wrote. “Donald Trump has manifestly failed in these responsibilities.”
For Fiorina, Trump’s misogynistic behavior is personal. During the primary season, the real estate mogul made a now infamous remark about his then-opponent, aka the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard:
“Look at that face!,” Would anyone vote for that?,” Trump said of Fiorina in a September 2015 interview with Rolling Stone. “I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not s’posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?”
Trump’s regressive attitudes about women date back months, years, and even decades, but the grotesque comments heard in an audio recording uncovered by The Washington Post on Friday appear to have vividly illuminated what many have known all along.
Indeed, the video has led to a mass exodus of GOP women leaving the Trump Train:
“I wanted to be able to support my party’s nominee, chosen by the people, because I feel strongly that we need a change in direction for our country,” stated New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte. “However, I’m a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women.”
Notably, Ayotte herself faces a tough re-election against a Democratic candidate who has attempted to link the GOP senator with the Trump dumpster fire.
Here’s Alabama Rep. Martha Roby’s tweet, following the video’s widespread publicity:
Donald Trump’s behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I won’t vote for him.
Full statement: pic.twitter.com/Ge7GU1TSvm
— Rep. Martha Roby (@RepMarthaRoby) October 8, 2016
“The appropriate next step may be for [Trump] to reexamine his candidacy,” added Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.
“The comments made by Mr. Trump were disgusting and totally unacceptable under any circumstance,” affirmed Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, one of the most vocal female Trump advocates in the Senate. “It would be wise for him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party’s nominee.”
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski reiterated the position of her female GOP colleagues, stating bluntly that Trump has “forfeited the right to be our party’s nominee.”
Here’s a full list of female GOP lawmakers who have come out against Trump, courtesy of CBS News:
Senate:
- Susan Collins (R-Maine)
- Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
- Kelly Ayotte, (R-New Hampshire)
- Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska)
- Shelly Moore Capito (R-West Virginia)
- Joni Ernst (R-Iowa)
House:
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers, House GOP Conference Chair (R-Washington)
- Martha Roby (R-Alabama)
- Susan Brooks (R-Indiana)
- Barbara Comstock (R-Virginia)
- Mia Love (R-Utah)
- Ann Wagner (R-Missouri)
- Jackie Walorski (R-Indiana)
- Elise Stefanik (R-New York)
- Martha McSally (R-Arizona)
- Vicki Hartzler (R-Missouri)
- Kristi Noem (R-North Dakota)
- Lynn Jenkins (R-Kansas)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming)