Dana Ferguson

dferguson@argusleader.com

They've heard enough.

Two of South Dakota's most prominent Republicans turned on the party's embattled presidential nominee Saturday, calling on Donald Trump to drop out of the race following the release of video in which he made vulgar comments about women.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Sen. John Thune joined dozens of Republican officeholders across the country in an unprecedented condemnation of their party's candidate for the White House just one month before the election.

Sen. Mike Rounds and Rep. Kristi Noem criticized Trump's behavior but stopped short of demanding he exit the race, which might allow for his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, to move to the top of the ticket.

The uproar began Friday afternoon when The Washington Post released a 2005 video it obtained in which Trump brags about his efforts to kiss, grope and have sex with women.

“And when you’re a star they let you do it,” Trump says in the recording. “Grab them by the p—y. You can do anything.”

Trump issued an apology late Friday, saying the words in the decade-old video do not reflect who he is, but the statement didn't stop the wildfire of criticism from spreading on social media.

"Enough is enough. Donald Trump should withdraw in favor of Governor Mike Pence. This election is too important," Daugaard tweeted just before noon Saturday.

Minutes later, Thune echoed the governor's comment, becoming the first Senate Republican to call for Trump to drop out.

"Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately," Thune tweeted.

The path to a Pence presidency wasn't clear Saturday, though. In an all-caps tweet Saturday afternoon, Trump said, "I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN!’’

James Bopp, a former Republican National Committee vice chairman, told USA TODAY the party has no authority to remove Trump from the ticket against his will, and even if he agreed to step aside it's unclear what would happen to early voting ballots that have already been cast for Trump.

"At this point, a vacancy would very likely forfeit the presidency irrevocably,’’ Bopp said. “I think this is gross speculation … I don’t see any prospect of Trump stepping down and there’s no authority to remove him."

Trump's South Dakota campaign director, Neal Tapio, defended the candidate Saturday, posting on Facebook that Trump's words pale in comparison to the scandals associated with Hillary Clinton and her family.

"Trump is unstable? Trump is mean to women? Give me a break," he wrote.

Tapio did not respond to calls or emails requesting comment Saturday.

The South Dakota Republican Party deferred to elected officials, while the South Dakota Democratic Party issued a statement called Trump's comments "shocking and horrifying."

"Quite simply, (the comments) amount to a man celebrating his ability to sexually assault a woman," a party spokesman said. "No woman should ever be treated in such a way. His remarks show this narcissistic man's crass views of women and that he views women as objects, not equals. This man has no business being president of our great country."

Noem's Democratic challenger Paula Hawks on Saturday said her campaign has repeatedly called on the congresswoman to disavow Trump. She said Noem should explain why she hasn't withdrawn support from Trump sooner.

"Nothing has changed about Donald Trump's behavior," Hawks said. "The only thing that's changed now are the poll numbers."

Noem called Trump's comments "repulsive" but did not revoke her endorsement Saturday afternoon.

"No one should ever talk about a woman — another person for that matter — in the repulsive way that Donald Trump did. Period," Noem tweeted.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Mike Rounds said in an email Saturday morning that Rounds supports Trump's goal of making America great again but sometimes disagrees with the candidate.

"This is clearly a situation in which Sen. Rounds disagrees with the comments Mr. Trump made," Natalie Krings said. "They are deplorable and indefensible."

Follow Dana Ferguson on Twitter @bydanaferguson, call (605) 370-2493 or email dferguson@argusleader.com.

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