John Thune, the only member of Senate Republican leadership to call for Donald Trump to “step aside” in recent days, announced that he will “intend[s] to vote for the nominee” nonetheless.
“I intend to support the nominee of our party and if anything should change then I’ll let you know, but he’s got a lot of work to do I think if he’s going to have any hope of winning this election,” the South Dakota Republican told KELO News, a local outlet, on Tuesday evening.
Thune, the fourth-highest ranking Senate Republican, called for Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate, to take over as the presidential nominee on Saturday after the publication of a 2005 video in which Trump spoke in lewd terms of attempting to sleep with a married woman and grabbing women’s genitals. “Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately,” Thune tweeted.
Thune reiterated that Pence taking over remains “the best solution,” although he acknowledged it becomes a less likely possibility as time goes on. But he’s going to support the GOP ticket against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton either way.
“I think she will be bad for farmers and ranchers and I think when it comes to the kinds of people that she would put on the courts they’re going to be activist, liberal type judges which could very well put much at risk things that are important here in South Dakota like the Second Amendment,” he said.
That apparent return to the fold comes as Trump is accusing Republican leaders of trying to sabotage his candidacy. “They’re not putting their weight behind the people,” Trump said on Wednesday. “There’s a whole deal going on [and] we’re going to figure it out. I always figure things out.”
