In the wake of video, Portman withdraws support of Trump

October 9, 2016 at 12:10a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

A day after the Washington Post released an 11-year-old video in which Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump makes lewd comments and brags that his fame allows him to grope women, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman has withdrawn his support for Trump and says he will instead vote for Mike Pence, Trump’s vice presidential running mate.

Portman, who is running against former Ohio governor Ted Strickland, a Democrat, released a statement about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, which reads, “As I said yesterday, Donald Trump’s comments were offensive and wrong. I had hoped to support the candidate my party nominated in the primary process. I thought it was appropriate to respect the millions of voters across the country who chose Donald Trump as the Republican Party nominee. While I continue to respect those who still support Donald Trump, I can no longer support him. I continue to believe our country cannot afford a Hillary Clinton presidency. I will be voting for Mike Pence for president.”

Trump’s remarks in 2005 to Billy Bush, then a host on NBC’s “Access Hollywood” and now a co-host on “Today,” have drawn widespread condemnation from local Democratic and Republican leaders.

Columbiana County Republican Party Chairman Dave Johnson and Tracey Winbush, chairwoman of Trump’s campaign in Mahoning County, however, have said unequivocally they will still be voting for Trump.

“I’m not going to defend those comments, and no decent person should defend those comments,” Johnson said of the remarks, which were recorded mostly in a tour bus via a hot mic. “I’m very disappointed.”

When asked if Trump described sexual assault in the video, Johnson said, “I don’t know.”

The chairman said he will “100 percent” still be voting for Trump.

“When it comes down to it, supporting Trump is a no-brainer,” Johnson said. “Put them side by side. Hillary Clinton is a liar and cheater. She will move this country farther to the left. Bill Clinton is a serial abuser of women.”

Johnson then added, “During his impeachment, Bill Clinton lied to the American public and the Congress.”

In response to a question about whether Hillary Clinton is responsible for her husband’s impeachment, Johnson contended, “She’s accountable to the extent that she supported him and defended him. They’re two peas in a pod. ... The Clintons are the most deceitful couple ever to occupy the White House.”

Winbush said that while she personally would not like to have heard what Trump said in the video during a conversation, she was “not at all offended” by what she saw in the video. The comments would have been worse, she contended, if Trump had said them directly to the woman he was referring to, rather than to Bush, who is the nephew of former President George H. Walker Bush.

Winbush said the conversation, which includes Trump saying,” Grab [women] by the p----,” and “You can do anything” to women if you’re a star, does not describe sexual assault.

“It’s the way some men talk to each other in our society. ... I think it is two men having a private conversation the same way that women did when “Fifty Shades of Grey” came out,” she said referring to a popular erotic novel and movie.

“Listen, we all throw mud,” she said. “Nobody is completely altruistic and pure unless Jesus Christ himself is running for president. We’ve all said things in private that were off the record. ... He’s human. If anything, it increases my support for him.”

She described the resulting outrage and media attention as a “distraction” and a “waste of time.”

“You can’t judge a person from what they said a decade ago,” Winbush said. “We need to stop focusing on his personal life and pay attention to the issues.”

When asked if Trump’s repeated references to Bill Clinton’s infidelity were justified, Winbush said, “That’s not for me to say. Listen, I can’t tell anyone how to run their campaign.”

Winbush said it is unfair to infer Trump does not respect women.

“It would be like me assuming someone doesn’t like me because I’m black,” Winbush said. “We can’t keep painting with a broad brush. A lot of people don’t like me or my politics, but it’s not because I’m black.”

She said she was “disappointed” in the Republicans now distancing themselves from Trump, but said that they “had a right to their decisions.”

For his part, Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman Dave Betras criticized Winbush and Portman for what he described as their “cowardice” in enabling Trump. When Betras spoke to The Vindicator early Saturday evening, Portman had not yet withdrawn his support for Trump.

Of Winbush, Betras said, “Tracey Winbush has sold her soul. She has chosen party over her own reality and party over her own morality.

“The leader of their party is morally bankrupt,” Betras continued. “Why is anyone shocked? Is it when he attacks a Gold Star family? Is it when he attacks an American judge for his heritage? We have a racist, xenophobic, misogynistic man trying to became the leader of our country.”

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, was right to condemn Trump, Betras said.

A statement from Kasich reads: “Nothing that has happened in the last 48 hours is surprising to me or many others. Many people were angry and questioned why I would not endorse Donald Trump or attend the Republican Convention. I’ve long had concerns with Donald Trump that go beyond his temperament. We have substantive policy differences on conservative issues like trade, our relationship with Russia, and the importance of balancing the federal budget. I’ve held out hope that he would change on those disqualifying policy positions, but he has not. I’ve also encouraged him to change his behavior for the better and offer a positive, inclusive vision for our country, but he has not.”