The Register's editorial

"Every woman has met a Donald Trump. He’s the jerk at the bar, family reunion, or sporting event who disrespects women. He laughs the loudest at his own jokes and thinks the world revolves around him. He puffs up his chest and stares at yours. If you tell him to back off, he asks if you’re menstruating. ... Every man has met a Trump, too. He’s the guy who makes comments about your sister, yells out car windows and just won’t shut up. ... And the idea of that guy being seriously considered as a candidate for the President of the United States is inconceivable."

These are excerpts from a Des Moines Register editorial published in September 2015. Donald Trump had repeatedly demeaned women, calling them names and objectifying them. At that point, more than a year ago, he was trying to secure the presidential nomination of the Republican Party. Many of us could not believe such a sexist and tactless candidate could make it much farther in politics.

Then he secured the GOP nomination. Now he is one election away from the White House.

Perhaps nothing the candidate says about women comes as a surprise anymore. Though pitiful, that is who Trump is. But what does it say about the rest of us that he continues to garner support, especially in Iowa?

A recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found him leading Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by 4 percentage points in this state. Less than half of likely Iowa voters polled said his attitude toward women and comments about a former Miss Universe “bothers them a lot.”

On Friday, the public began absorbing the contents of a video in which Trump bragged in vulgar terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women. “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” he said. “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

Though the Iowa Poll was conducted before the release of this 2005 recording, you can’t help but wonder if it would have made any difference in the results. It has not shaken Gov. Terry Branstad’s support of the candidate.

A statement released by his office on Saturday said the governor thinks the comments are “reprehensible and offensive” but he continues to support Trump. At a press conference Monday, Branstad reiterated this sentiment and said he accepted the nominee’s apology.

Sen. Joni Ernst said on Monday she is “appalled” by Trump's comments, but still planned to vote for him. This is the same senator who wrote in this newspaper six months ago she remains “steadfast in working to change the culture surrounding sexual assault in the military, and focus on the overall prevention of sexual assault in order to stop this trauma from happening in the first place.”

It is impossible to reconcile that goal with voting to elect a commander-in-chief whose words in the video amount to a description of attempted sexual assault.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, and Reps. David Young and Rod Blum similarly denounced Trump’s comments. Yet none of the Republicans responded to questions about whether they could continue to support Trump.

How do these elected officials explain to their wives, sisters, daughters and granddaughters that they support a man who said it’s OK to refer to his own daughter as a “piece of ass”? In audio recordings of Trump on the Howard Stern Show released last week, the GOP nominee called Ivanka “voluptuous.” He discussed having sex with women on their menstrual cycles, threesomes and checking out of relationships with them when they turn 35.

“Words matter,” said Trump during a debate with Clinton on Sunday. He was not being ironic, and that particular statement made by him was actually true. Words do matter.

And Trump’s words represent a dangerous mentality. It is a mentality that women struggle to overcome in workplaces and politics. It is a mentality that endangers them while living in a college dorm, jogging in a park and going on a date.

It is not enough for Iowa’s elected officials to simply denounce a select few statements made by Trump. They should reject the candidate.

They should be better than this. Iowa should be better than this.

Many prominent Republicans do not support Trump

The New York Times recently published the names of 160 Republican leaders who do not support Donald Trump, including some who have said they will vote for Hillary Clinton. Among them are former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Sen. John McCain, Gov. Mitt Romney, former defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz and former presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina. None of Iowa’s current elected officials are on the list.