Conservative commentator S.E. Cupp is encouraging more Republicans to denounce Donald Trump, saying that “history will be kind” to them.
“That there haven’t been more high-profile Republican defectors this election is surprising and disappointing,” wrote the New York Daily News columnist, who has a long history of supporting Republican causes, on Tuesday. “Even if most are backing Trump under the guise of ‘party unity,’ Trump has proven time and again he cares little for unity and even less for the party. I think it’s safe to say that history will be kind to those who had the courage to denounce the nativist, reckless, uninformed and ugly candidacy of Donald Trump.”
Cupp said that there are many Republicans who have said they’ll vote for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton instead, but they’re hesitant to say so publicly.
“I’ve talked to countless other Republicans who whisper to me that while Clinton is despicable, she won’t ‘burn the country down.’ When I ask if they can vote for her, they look around, make sure no one else is watching, and reluctantly nod yes,” she added.
On Tuesday, Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) became the first Republican in Congress to pledge his support for Clinton. Other prominent conservatives, like Maria Comella, a former aide to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), and Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman, followed suit.
Cupp didn’t call on specific Republican lawmakers to disavow Trump, but Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) could be among the next to do so. While both have backed Trump, the Republican nominee on Tuesday declined to endorse either of them. Trump even praised Ryan’s primary challenger.
Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann said that Ryan could even be a frontrunner for 2020 should he pull his support for Trump.
Read Cupp’s full op-ed here.
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.
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