'I'm out': Rep. Chaffetz withdraws his endorsement of Trump

Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz has withdrawn his endorsement of Donald Trump following the publication of lewd and sexually aggressive comments the Republican nominee made 2005, in one of the most concrete signs so far that Trump’s support is crumbling.

“I’m out. I can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. It is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine,” Chaffetz told Utah’s Fox 13 News.


During a phone interview on CNN, the House Oversight Committee chairman dismissed the Trump campaign's initial claim that his derogatory remarks were just "locker room banter."

"I have to tell you, I played college football, and place kicker, I've been in a lot of locker rooms. This is not just locker room talk," he said. "This was offensive, and it was absolutely totally wrong, and I'm not going to endorse them. I'm not going to vote for Hillary Clinton."

Chaffetz said even though he will still not be voting for Trump's opponent, he couldn't bring himself to continue backing his candidacy.

"I can't tell the good people of Utah, that I endorse a person who acts like this," he added.

Pressed on whether he believed Trump should step aside and forego his spot atop the Republican ticket prior to the November election, as former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has called for, Chaffetz was non-committal.

"I wished Mike Pence was at the top of the ticket and we're going to have to figure that out at the -- in the coming days and weeks, but it is tragic the way it is right now," he said.

The Utah representative, however, still felt confident that the Republican ticket would carry the state in the general election.

"I highly doubt it," he said when asked about the possibility of Utah going blue. "We haven't voted for a Democrat in Utah since 1964."

Republicans are racing to distance themselves from Trump, whose predatory comments have crossed a line that many can’t stomach. Chaffetz was the first member of the House to withdraw his support, later joined by Rep. Barbara Comstock.

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Friday night said he was “sickened by what I heard today,” while Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Trump must apologize for his “repugnant” comments.”

In the interview, Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee and one of the most vocal critics of Clinton, said he can no longer support the Republican nominee if he can’t look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye and tell her about Trump’s demeaning comments about women.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a fellow Republican, also said on Friday that he can no longer vote for Trump, as did former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.