Orange County Congressman Dana Rohrabacher delivered a scathing rebuke of House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans backing away from Donald Trump, saying this morning that the current conflict arising from Trump’s “hot mic” statement will actually help the GOP nominee get elected.

Rohrabacher called Ryan “cowardly” for saying that he would no longer defend Trump, instead focusing his campaign work on helping Republican House candidates.

“Leaders are supposed to stand firm and solid in moments of crisis,” the Costa Mesa Republican told the Register. “Instead, he’s in a panic. It’s not good leadership. … I think the Republicans who are backing away are gutless. We don’t have to just be concerned about saving House seats. We have to be concerned about saving the United States of America.”

Ryan told House Republican in a phone conference earlier today that he wouldn’t be defending Trump any longer in the wake of “hot mic” tape from 2005 that became public Friday. In that recording, Trump lewdly described grabbing women by the genitals, saying “when you’re a star, they let you do anything.”

Trump apologized for the comments, but dismissed them as “locker-room banter,” not an admission of sexual assault. Rohrabacher downplayed their significance as well.

“Trump was 60-years old, expressing sexual attitude to a younger man” who was conversing with him, Rohrabacher said. “I thought it was crass.”

Just before Sunday’s debate, Trump held a press conference featuring four women who say they were victimized by Bill and Hillary Clinton: one who said she was raped by Bill Clinton in 1978, one who claimed he sexually harassed her in 1991, one who claimed sexual harassment in 1991 and one who was a 12-year-old sexual assault victim whose assailant was defended by Hillary Clinton in 1975.

Juanita Broaddrick, who accused Bill Clinton of raping her, claimed that Hillary Clinton attempted to intimidate her to keep her quiet. No charges were filed, her suit against Bill Clinton was dismissed and the Clintons have denied her account.

But Rohrabacher is inclined to believe Broaddrick’s side of the story, and points to it as an indication that the Clinton’s behavior is much worse than Trump’s.

“You compare (Trump’s comments) to Hillary Clinton intimidating a woman who’s been raped by her husband – there’s no comparison,” Rohrabacher said.

“This episode with Trump and the live mic 11 years ago open up the door for the public to hear about these rape viticms and Hillary’s intimidation of them,” he said, adding that should help Trump’s campaign.

Paula Jones, who said Bill Clinton propositioned her and exposed himself to her in 1991, agreed to an $850,000 settlement with Clinton although there was no admission of wrongdoing.

Kathleen Willey claimed she was grabbed and kissed by Bill Clinton. Clinton denied the allegations and an independent prosecutor concluded there was no evidence to doubt that denial.

All of Orange County’s Republican House members have said they are voting for Trump and none had announced they’d withdrawn support as of Monday. However, Reps. Mimi Walters and Darrell Issa criticized Trump’s “hot mic” comments.

“As a mother of two daughters, I condemn Donald Trump’s offensive and language about women,” Walters, R-Laguna Beach, posted on her website Friday. “It was beyond inappropriate and he needs to understand that he alone is accountable for his words and actions.”

And Issa, R-Vista, tweeted Saturday, “This type of behavior has no place in American politics, especially not from those seeking to lead our great nation,”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: mwisckol@ocregister.com