Tom Reed (left) and Donald Trump
WASHINGTON – Chautauqua County’s representative in Congress says he will continue to stand by embattled Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23) said during a conference call with media on Tuesday afternoon that he will not pull his endorsement of Trump, even as other members of the Republican Party have publicly stated they will no longer support the party’s candidate for president.
Trump has been in the spotlight in recent days due to a leaked 2005 video of him making lewd comments about a woman. Some have even claimed the comments refer to sexually assaulting another person because they involve groping without permission. Since the release of the video, Trump has been criticized by both sides of the political aisle. He also attempted to deflect criticism against him by pointing out Bill Clinton’s history of alleged sexual assault during Sunday’s presidential debate.
In the wake of recent denouncements from dozens of Republicans, including Paul Ryan, Trump announced via Twitter that “the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to.” In what is widely viewed as evidence of a widening rift in the Republican Party, Trump went on to bash Ryan as a “very weak and ineffective leader” and label Democrats—”with the exception of cheating Bernie”—as “far more loyal to each other” than Republicans.
Tuesday afternoon, Reed reaffirmed his stance that he is 100 percent against the comments, but also said that Trump is still the better option than Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
“I’m looking at a situation where we have to choose beween Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. I think overall, for the future of the Presidency, Donald Trump gives us the best chance to get the American people’s business done, get us back to work, and keep us secured for generations to come.”
Reed also told reporters that when the Trump story broke, he had a conversation with his wife and family, prior to making the decision to continue his endorsement of Trump.
“We absolutely did talk about this over the past 72 hours. My wife and I did spend a lot of time talking about this,” Reed said. “I am obviously disappointed in that rhetoric and in those statements. I always try to look at the silver lining in these situations and having this conversation, hopefully we can talk to other people and say that kind of talk is not acceptable, and we can start changing the tone of comments, such as that, which have been made.”
As most of us know, wives of politicians manifestly have to “stand by their man” in his political choices – whether or not they agree. It’s bad enough that Mrs. Reed has to do that, but Tom Reed surely didn’t need to use her in the sense he’s “good little boy” who checked in with her, then turned around and chose the outrageous behaviour and hideous words of Donald trump over respect for his female family members. At least Tom Reed would have been better off not saying he talked it over with Mrs. Reed – leaving less doubt that she agrees with him.
Tom: blink twice if you’re being held hostage.
Donald Trump’s own statements and actions regarding women, Hispanics, African Americans, and people with disabilities, his false claims that President Obama was not born in the United States, and his reckless, ignorant statements and actions relating to foreign and domestic policy all disqualify him as a candidate for any elective office, much less the Presidency. Representative Reed has brought utter shame and complete discredit upon himself for endorsing such a profoundly dangerous, destructive, irrational person. This shame and discredit never will be erased. Reed has endorsed the worst candidate of a major party since the time when there were candidates who supported segregation, slavery, and the denial of rights to women. Trump is disgusting, and so is Reed for promoting him and trying to excuse his inexcusable conduct.