Trump Responds on Twitter to Critics of Leaked Tape
By:
It's been less than two days since Donald Trump issued an apology for his exploitive comments about women in a 2005 video, and already the Republican presidential candidate is on the offensive again on Twitter.
The Republican presidential nominee responded in one tone-deaf tweet after another on Sunday morning to continued criticism from within his own party, calling his detractors "self-righteous hypocrites" and insinuating that they would lose their campaigns for reelection:
Trump also cast doubt on whether he experienced any actual remorse over his statements, which were revealed in a leaked "Access Hollywood" behind-the-scenes audio tape. He noted how "interesting" the past 24 hours had been only 10 hours after he apologized on video:
Do Trump's Twitter outbursts — or his leaked comments about women — even matter to voters?
The answer may be "no," according to one recent poll by Politico and Morning Consult.
Researchers in a study conducted Saturday allowed respondents to view the video of Trump describing off camera how he could sexually assault women because of his celebrity and his subsequent apology video. They then asked them a series of questions about how they felt about the Republican presidential candidate, his campaign, and the clip. The results revealed a country starkly divided along partisan lines.
About 70 percent of Democratic respondents said after viewing the videos that Trump should end his campaign. Only 12 percent of Republican respondents (and 13 percent of Republican women) agreed.
Likewise, when asked to rate the leaked clip of Trump's comments to Billy Bush on a scale of zero (very negative) to 10 (very positive), the pollsters' findings were similarly partisan: 69 percent of Democratic voters said they responded very negatively, giving the clip a zero rating. Only 22 percent of Republicans responded with the same degree of negativity.
The chief takeaway, according to Politico, was that rank-and-file Republican voters want the party to stand by the real estate mogul, with only a small minority feeling that the party should stop backing him.
So who is Trump mad at?
Republican voters continue to support the Manhattan businessman in his bid for the presidency, but GOP elected officials seem to have other thoughts.
Republican leaders in growing numbers have either withdrawn their support for their party's nominee or openly disavowed him. These include many who have bluntly declared their views in the last 48 hours on Twitter, such as Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho:
Some GOP leaders — like South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard — have called for Trump to step down and let his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, take over the ticket:
Check out the full list of GOP leaders who have pulled their support for Trump since the "Access Hollywood" tape surfaced on Friday:
ATTN: has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment on this evolving situation. We will update the story when we receive a reply.
