In case you missed it, it was reported yesterday that Trump said really nasty things on a hot mike back in 2005, about groping women and some actions that are, at best, unsavory, at worst criminal. Late at night he made a “video announcement” in which he said he was sorry, and made the claim that he’s a changed man now, and, oh, by the way, Bill Clinton’s done worse and Hillary abetted him.
Lots of Republicans are — finally — waking up to what an awful example of a human being this man is, and voicing their opposition or even un-endorsing him. Was this event truly more shocking than everything else it’s been revealed that he’s said and done? Or was this the straw that broke the camel’s back? After all, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the man is not even making the efforts to win that any reasonable candidate would — for example, a Politico report that he wholly rejects the idea of debate-prep. Reports that he’s not placing TV advertisements (and, in my mind, a real concern that he is, or will be, pocketing the campaign contributions he’s received). And who knows how many other October Surprises there might be, because none of this came out in the primary season.
What next? There are calls for the Republican Party to replace him. Too late.
There are calls for him to resign. Carly Fiorna posted this on her facebook page:
Donald Trump does not represent me or my party. I understand the responsibility of Republicans to support their nominee. Our nominee has weighty responsibilities as well. Donald Trump has manifestly failed in these responsibilities.
I have traveled the country for years warning Americans that Hillary Clinton is unfit to be President.
We must have a conservative in the White House to restore accountability, opportunity and security. For the sake of our Constitution and the rule of law, we must defeat Hillary Clinton.
Today I ask Donald Trump to step aside and for the RNC to replace him with Gov. Mike Pence.
And Megan McArdle (sorry, can’t find the link any longer, will look again later) laid out a scenario in the RNC leadership tells Trump, “if you don’t step down, we will ensure that you have the most embarrassingly large loss in history, and you’ll never live it down.”
Is it too late? Even if this by some miracle were to happen, people have already voted, and various states have restrictions around whether a candidate’s name can indeed be replaced at this point in the process or not.
(By the way, early voting is dumb for exactly this reason. Vote absentee or early if you’re not able to make it to the poll on Election Day, but wait until the last minute. And vote on Election Day if you possibly can — if for no other reason than that there’s something meaningful about participating in this great civic ritual in a communal fashion rather than putting a ballot in the mail.)
What is possible is this: for Trump to say, “I pledge that I will step down after the election, at whatever point my constitutional law advisors tell me is appropriate. Vote for me — but do so knowing that a vote for me is a vote for Mike Pence.”
And, sure, Pence in any other situation would be well out of his league as a presidential candidate. But I’ll take what I can get.
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