Outgoing Rep. Scott Rigell (Va.) is the latest Republican to pledge that he will never support White House hopeful Donald Trump, even if the candidate becomes the Republican nominee.
The congressman wrote a letter saying if Trump becomes the party standard bearer, the harm to the GOP will be “nothing short of catastrophic,” WAVY News 10 reported.
{mosads}”Never before have I grabbed a word like catastrophic to make a political point. It’s like pulling a fire alarm; if you do it, there had better be a fire. There is a fire and it’s raging within our Republican party,” he wrote.
Rigell pointed to Trump’s judgement, temperament and character as reasons the candidate cannot become president.
He called out the front-runner for his refusal to denounce David Duke and the KKK and for instead “pleading ignorance.”
“What void must exist in the heart of a person who when asked about the KKK has to struggle for even a moment as to what his position is? And what void must be present in the mind of a would-be president who is unapologetic in quoting Mussolini and states publicly that he admires Putin?” he wrote.
Rigell joins Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) in pledging not to support Trump, even as the GOP nominee.
Rigell called out Trump for being someone who teaches the next generation of Republicans to belittle their adversaries and mock people.
“Trump is a bully, unworthy of our nomination,” he wrote.
“My love for our country eclipses my loyalty to our party, and to live with a clear conscience I will not support a nominee so lacking in the judgement, temperament and character needed to be our nation’s commander-in-chief. Accordingly, if left with no alternative, I will not support Trump in the general election should he become our Republican nominee.