Republican Senator Who Urged Donald Trump to Step Aside Supports Him Again

October 12, 2016 at 12:18

A Republican lawmaker who turned against Donald Trump after the release of a damning 2005 video appears to have reversed her position.

Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska had called for Trump to step aside and cede the GOPnomination to his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence, but now she has said she will vote for Trump.

Trump Campaign Manager Berates 'Wishy-Washy' Republican Leaders

"I plan to vote for Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence on Nov. 8," she said Tuesday on Lincoln radio station KLIN.

"I put out a statement ... with regard to Mr. Trump's comments," she said of her initial response to the video, in which Trump boasts of grabbing women without their consent.

"I felt they were disgusting. I felt they were unacceptable, and I never said I was not voting for our Republican ticket.

"He decided he would not step aside. I respect his decision ... I support the Republican ticket, and it's a Trump-Pence ticket."

Her chief of staff, Joe Hack, confirmed today that those comments reflect her position.

"On Friday the senator expressed her disgust at Mr. Trump's comments and suggested he step aside. He did not," Hack said in a statement. "She did not say in her statement that she was not voting for the ticket, nor did she say she was writing anyone in. Indeed, she plans to vote for the Republican ticket on Nov. 8, which has been her consistent position."

Fischer condemned the comments Saturday, a day after the release of the 2005 video, in which Trump crudely talks about women during an "Access Hollywood" interview.