2016 Trump defiant as Republicans flee The GOP nominee says there’s ‘zero chance’ he’ll drop out of the race, despite a flood of Republicans calling for him to step aside.

An avalanche of Republicans began abandoning Donald Trump on Saturday, even as the embattled Republican nominee dug in to defend himself, declaring there was “zero chance” he would quit the race with Election Day exactly one month away.

Less than 24 hours after a tape surfaced of Trump describing his pursuit of women in lewd and assaulting terms — “I don’t even wait,” he bragged about groping a woman’s genitals — Trump faced defections from prominent supporters, congressmen, governors and senators.


Even Trump’s own running mate Mike Pence refused to firmly stand behind his political partner, canceling a planned appearance in Wisconsin on Trump’s behalf and saying, “I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them.” (A source familiar with Pence's thinking did say the Indiana governor is not currently contemplating leaving the ticket.)

It was a historic and unprecedented floodgate of opposition to the Republican nominee from within his own party, from the head of the national college Republicans (“The Party of Lincoln is not a locker room”) to the No. 3-ranked GOP senator, John Thune (“Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately.”).

Trump was characteristically defiant. "The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN!" he tweeted on Saturday afternoon amid growing cries for just that.

Many of Trump’s top advisers, including campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, campaign CEO Stephen Bannon, Gov. Chris Christie and his son, Donald Trump Jr., were spotted entering Trump Tower amid the unfolding chaos.

Later in the afternoon, outside the tower, Trump reveled in the rowdy crowd, waving and high-fiving supporters, some of whom yelled out “I love you!”

Even as Trump’s hardcore supporters rallied, elected Republicans bolted. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who is up for reelection this fall, was among those who withdrew their endorsements in sharply personal terms. “I’m a mom and an American first,” Ayotte said, “and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women.”

Her statement was one of many signs that the early and tepid Trump denunciations on Friday had morphed into far fiercer renunciations — including demands that he resign. Rep. Martha Roby, in a solid Republican district in Alabama, announced on Saturday morning that she too could no longer back Trump.

Many others followed. 2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain late Saturday afternoon said he would no longer vote for Trump. Carly Fiorina, who ran for president and was briefly Ted Cruz’s running mate, called on Trump to “step aside.” Conservative radio show host and Trump defender Hugh Hewitt said the nominee “should withdraw.” “More and worse oppo coming,” Hewitt wrote on Twitter. And in an impassioned video posted on Facebook after midnight, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah told Trump: “Step down.”

Even Trump’s wife, Melania, issued a statement saying “the words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me.” But she tried to push past the scandal. “I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world.”

That appeared unlikely.

The Republican National Committee offered another troubling sign, as they appeared on Saturday to at least temporarily halt the operations of some of the “Victory” program that is devoted to electing Trump. In an email from the RNC to a victory program mail vendor, with the subject line “Hold on all projects,” the committee asked the vendor to “put a hold” on mail production.

Trump seemed to want to make light of the whole affair. On Saturday morning he tweeted, “Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!” sending the missive from an Android device, which Trump typically uses to write his own tweets.

He called reporters at the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post to insist he is remaining in the race. “I never, ever give up,” Trump told the Journal, denying any kind of crisis. “The support I’m getting is unbelievable, because Hillary Clinton is a horribly flawed candidate.”

Asked about his crude language, Trump replied, “People get it. They get life.”

Democrats disagreed. “Such behavior is an abuse of power. It’s not lewd. It’s sexual assault,” Vice President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter.

Pence’s decision not to campaign for Trump in Wisconsin — at an event with House Speaker Paul Ryan that Trump himself was initially expected to attend — was a chilling sign for the chances of Trump’s candidacy in the final month. Pence had been announced as Trump’s stand-in only hours earlier.

Any GOP hopes to try to convince voters that the crude tape was an isolated incident, despite years of prior misogynistic comments from Trump, dissipated further later Saturday when CNN published more audio from Trump’s years of interviews with Howard Stern, in which he commented on his daughter’s physique, having sex with women during menstruation, interracial sex and getting out of relationships with women over the age of 35.

“It's called check-out time," Trump says in the tape.

Under siege, Trump struggled to somehow cast his own indiscretions into a liability for Hillary Clinton, who remained out of sight beyond her tweet on Friday that, “We cannot allow this man to become president.”

In a 91-second video apology released after midnight, Trump said the tape was “more than a decade-old video” and then, within moments, decided to air decades-old allegations against former President Bill Clinton.

“I've said some foolish things but there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people,” Trump said. “Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims.”

He suggested he will give such topics airing in St. Louis. “See you at the debate on Sunday,” he ended the recording.

One Trump source said that is now the plan for Sunday’s debate: “Attack Hillary re Bill's sex crimes."

Trump himself previewed such an attack, retweeting messages from Juanita Broaddrick, who in 1999 publicly accused Bill Clinton of raping her two decades earlier.

"How many times must it be said? Actions speak louder than words. DT said bad things! HRC threatened me after BC raped me," on tweet from Broaddrick, a Trump supporter, read.

Trump also retweeted a message from Broaddrick that read, "Hillary calls Trump's remarks 'horrific' while she lives with and protects a 'Rapist'. Her actions are horrific."

But others, including Pence, seemed to be hoping for contrition from a candidate who has largely refused to engage in any self-doubt throughout his career. “We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night,” Pence said in his statement.

Among those denouncing Trump on Saturday were a former aide, Pratik Chougule, who worked in Trump’s policy operation earlier this year. “I regret my decision last April to join the campaign as policy coordinator. Although I left the campaign in August for a variety of reasons, I wish that I had done so sooner and spoken out more forcefully against a candidate who embodies the worst excesses of our culture,” he said in an email.

A few Republicans stood by Trump, including former rival Ben Carson. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins did not withdraw support even as he said in a statement that “as a husband and father of three daughters, I find this behavior deeply offensive and degrading.”

“As I have made clear, my support for Donald Trump in the general election was never based upon shared values rather it was built upon shared concerns,” Perkins said.

Eli Stokols, Matt Nussbaum, Alex Isenstadt and Nancy Cook contributed to this report.

