Haslam Says Concerns About GOP’s Future Prompted Him To Repudiate Trump

Gov. Bill Haslam says his public repudiation of presidential nominee Donald Trump is for the good of the Republican Party. 

Haslam said Thursday that Trump’s remarks about groping women are just too alienating.

The Tennessee Republican never endorsed Trump, but for months, he also wouldn’t say whether he’d vote for him or someone else.

Haslam didn’t waiver from that stance, even after Trump was accused of belittling Latinos, Muslims, Asians, the disabled and others.

But he changed his mind last weekend, following release of a tape in which Trump boasted of kissing and touching women without their permission.

“We struggle already with women, with minorities and with young people, and we’re on a track where we’re not helping that. Having said that, I have real concerns about Hillary Clinton as president,” Haslam said.

Haslam says he now plans to write in a Republican name, even though it probably won’t count. Under Tennessee law, write-in candidates are tallied only if they register with election officials in advance.

The governor declined to say whether other Republicans should do the same. So far, in Tennessee, Haslam remains a lone voice among GOP officials. But he says Republican voters should make sure to cast their ballots, regardless of who they support.