In most respects, Robert Gates’s harsh weekend broadside against Donald Trump is unsurprising. Gates, a longtime Republican wise man in national security and defense circles, seems like a shoe-in to dislike Trump. Republican defense figures of all stripes, from neoconservatives to realpolitik exponents, have said they cannot back Trump, and many have endorsed Hillary Clinton. Gates, a particular sober and serious member of the GOP establishment, suggested in May that Trump might be irretrievable, and in a Wall Street Journal column published late on September 16, he completed the thought:
At least on national security, I believe Mr. Trump is beyond repair. He is stubbornly uninformed about the world and how to lead our country and government, and temperamentally unsuited to lead our men and women in uniform. He is unqualified and unfit to be commander-in-chief.
But Gates’s column is symbolic of why the race for president is still so tight, even though a huge host of figures like Gates have deemed Trump clearly unqualified for the presidency. First, it’s another example of how Republicans are coming out against their nominee, and of the fact that Hillary Clinton is relying on them so deeply. Second, Gates seems to speak for the bloc of voters who have ruled out Trump but can’t quite bring themselves to back Clinton. Third, the timing of his statement is intriguing, coming with just about 50 days to go before the election, as the race looks tighter than anticipated.
Gates spends much of his column castigating both Clinton and Trump—for offering vague or no statements on major issues like North Korea, for example, or in Clinton’s case for abandoning her support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. “Both candidates have a credibility problem in foreign affairs,” Gates writes. He concludes that Clinton still has time to fix her liabilities. “Whether and how she addresses these issues will, I believe, affect how many people vote—including me,” he writes.
Gates’s hesitations about Clinton are notable, not only in light of his categorical dismissal of Trump, but also compared to his past statements about her. According to his memoir Duty, Gates and Clinton, then secretary of state, seemed to align on many issues, often against Vice President Joe Biden and sometimes in disagreement with the president. In the book, Gates called Clinton “smart, idealistic but pragmatic, tough-minded, indefatigable, a very valuable colleague, and a superb representative of the United States all over the world.” Yet he still isn’t ready to back her. One wonders what it would take.
Only Gates knows why he wrote his column now, but thereis a growing undercurrent of concern that Trump might actually win. Many Democrats and Republicans alike have looked at the polls over the last week or two and come to conclude that perhaps Trump has a path, after months of assuming he could not. One way to measure how serious this worry is among national Republicans, and whether it is waxing or waning, is to watch whether more people like Gates come out against Trump and in favor of Clinton in the coming weeks.
Of course, even if they do, is anyone listening? Gates may be a well-respected national figure, but at this stage in the election, it’s unclear whether his comments will sway anyone. The Republican national-security apparatus has already spoken with remarkable unanimity against its party’s nominee. Gates adds to that chorus, but he no longer has any battalions at his command.
How do you solve a problem like The Donald? For Republicans and conservatives, the time for hoping Trump would simply burn himself out, collapse, and go away is over. Now they have to figure out what they’ll do: Sign up with Trump in the name of party unity, and distaste for Hillary Clinton? Or risk alienating the Republican nominee and reject him?
As the chaotic and failed attempts to stop Trump over the last year have shown, there’s no obviously right choice for how conservatives should respond. But which choice are people making? Here’s a list of some major figures and where they stand on Trump—right now. We’ll keep it updated as other important people take stances, or as these ones change their views about Trump.
Party Elders
George W. Bush: ABSTAIN
The former president “does not plan to participate in or comment on the presidential campaign,” an aide told the Texas Tribune. (May 4, 2016)
George H.W. Bush: ABSTAIN
“At age 91, President Bush is retired from politics. He came out of retirement to do a few things for Jeb, but those were the exceptions that proved the rule,” an aide told the Texas Tribune. (May 4, 2016)
Barbara Bush: NAY
Unlike her husband and elder son, the former first lady has publicly disavowed Trump. “I mean, unbelievable. I don't know how women can vote for someone who said what he said about Megyn Kelly, it’s terrible,” she told CBS in February. “And we knew what he meant too.” (February 4, 2016)
Mitt Romney: NAY
The party’s 2012 nominee, one of Trump’s staunchest critics during the primary, told The Wall Street Journal, “I wanted my grandkids to see that I simply couldn’t ignore what Mr. Trump was saying and doing, which revealed a character and temperament unfit for the leader of the free world.” Romney continued: “I know that some people are offended that someone who lost and is the former nominee continues to speak, but that’s how I can sleep at night.” (May 27, 2016)
Romney previously told The Washington Post he would skip the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, and said at a D.C. dinner that he won’t be supporting Trump. (May 5, 2016)
Bob Dole: YEA (formerly UNDECIDED)
The former Senate majority leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee endorsed Trump on May 6. He will also be the only living GOP nominee to attend the RNC. (May 6, 2016.) Dole previously would not commit to voting for Trump but said in January that Trump would be preferable to Cruz. (May 5, 2016)
John Boehner: YEA
The former speaker, who says he and Trump are “texting buddies,” told an audience at Stanford University that he’d back Trump in the general election. (April 28, 2016)
Trent Lott: YEA
The former Senate majority leader told The Clarion-Ledger that he will back Trump, despite some reservations. (May 4, 2016)
Tom DeLay: UNDECIDED
Asked by reporter Jon Ward whether Clinton or Trump was worse, the former House majority leader responded, “I can’t answer that right now.” (June 21, 2016)
DeLay hadn’t spoken out since Trump’s ascension, but was highly critical of him during the primary: “We have got to stop Trump. Whatever it takes without cheating or violating the rules of the Republican primaries,” he told Newsmax.
Dick Cheney: YEA
The former vice president blasted Trump during the primary over his stance on 9/11, and said he “sounds like a liberal Democrat,” but he now says he will back the nominee. (May 6, 2016)
Newt Gingrich: YEA
The former speaker of the House did not formally endorse Trump during the primary, but he has repeatedly praised the mogul and his vision, and is said to be a contender for a position in a Trump administration.
Jeb Bush: NAY
The former Florida governor and presidential candidate came to detest Trump during the campaign. In April, he said he would not attend the Republican National Convention. He now says he will not vote for either Trump or Clinton. (May 6, 2016)
Reince Priebus: YEA
As chair of the Republican National Committee, Priebus doesn't really have a choice, though that doesn’t mean he won’t pour Baileys in his cereal over it. (May 4, 2016)
.@realDonaldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton #NeverClinton
— Reince Priebus (@Reince) May 4, 2016
Priebus said on May 6 that Trump needs to change his tone.
Rick Perry: YEA
The former Texas governor and presidential candidate—who was one of the first to blast Trump—told CNN that he backs Trump. (5/5/16)
Mike Huckabee: YEA
The former Arkansas governor, who ran for president this year, says Republicans should get in line. “When we nominated people over the past several election cycles, some of us had heartburn, but we stepped up and supported the nominee,” he said. “You’re either on the team, or you’re not on the team.” (May 5, 2016)
Bobby Jindal: YEA
The former Louisiana governor, who during his own presidential campaign called Trump a “narcissist” and an “egomaniacal madman,” wrote in a Wall Street Journal column that he’s voting for Trump, “warts and all.” “I think electing Donald Trump would be the second-worst thing we could do this November, better only than electing Hillary Clinton to serve as the third term for the Obama administration’s radical policies,” he said. (May 9, 2016)
Eric Cantor: YEA
Cantor, the former U.S. representative from Virginia and House majority leader, says he will back Trump, though he offered a tepid endorsement, saying a Trump-Clinton matchup was “probably not the best choice for anybody,” and adding, “He’s a businessman . . . [but] he’s been on so many sides of every issue that you never know.” (May 9, 2016)
Ben Carson: YEA
Carson, a relative political newcomer who ran for president in 2016, has become one of Trump’s most prominent surrogates, despite repeatedly voicing misgivings about the candidate.
Rick Santorum: YEA
The former Pennsylvania senator and two-time presidential candidate appeared, with Mike Huckabee, at a Trump rally back in January, when they were ostensibly rivals. (Both Santorum and Huckabee already seemed finished by then.) Despite Santorum’s strong social conservatism, he says that after “a long heart-to-heart with Donald Trump” he is “100 percent” endorsing the nominee. (May 25, 2016)
Karl Rove: UNDECIDED
The former George W. Bush strategist and current Wall Street Journal columnist and PAC boss has called Trump “a complete idiot” who is “graceless and divisive.” (Trump, in turn, has asked, “Is he not the dumbest human being on earth?”) But The New York Times reports the two men met in May. (June 3, 2016)
Larry Pressler: NAY
A moderate and former three-term senator from South Dakota, Pressler has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. (June 14, 2016)
Herman Cain: YEA
Mr. 9-9-9, the 2012 GOP presidential candidate, introduced Trump at a rally in Atlanta, calling him “one of the great conservative voices in America today.” He had previously told Republicans who didn’t back Trump to “get over it” but also insisted it was not an endorsement. (June 15, 2016)Norm Coleman: NAY
The former Minnesota senator wrote in a March 3 column that he will not support the Republican nominee. “I won't vote for Donald Trump because of who he isn't. He isn't a Republican. He isn't a conservative. He isn't a truth teller…. I also won't vote for Donald Trump because of who he is. A bigot. A misogynist. A fraud. A bully.” (July 7, 2016)
Michael Bloomberg: NAY
Does the former New York mayor count as a Republican? A former Democrat, he ran and was elected Big Apple head honcho as a Republican, though he later became an independent. In any case, Bloomberg is appalled by Trump, and he will speak on behalf of Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. (June 24, 2016)
Sally Bradshaw: NAY
Bradshaw, a longtime operative and aid to Jeb Bush, was an author of the GOP’s post-2012 “autopsy” report. Now she says she’s not even a member of the party. “Ultimately, I could not abide the hateful rhetoric of Donald Trump and his complete lack of principles and conservative philosophy. I didn’t make this decision lightly,” she told CNN. She said if Florida looks close, she will vote for Hillary Clinton in order to defeat Trump. (August 1, 2016)
Marc Racicot: NAY
Racicot, a confidant of former President George W. Bush who chaired the RNC from 2001 to 2003, tells Bloomberg, “I cannot and will not support Donald Trump for president.” (August 3, 2016)
Vin Weber: NAY
A former Minnesota congressman who helped Newt Gingrich bring the Republican Party to power and is now a lobbyist, Weber has ruled out Trump. “I won't vote for Trump,” he told CNBC. “I can't imagine I'd remain a Republican if he becomes president.” (August 3, 2016)
Gordon Humphrey: NAY
The former U.S. senator from New Hampshire says he cannot vote for Trump, calling him “a sociopath, without a conscience or feelings of guilt, shame or remorse.” Humphrey told NBC he may reluctantly vote for Hillary Clinton, but only if it’s a close contest. (August 4, 2016)
George P. Bush: YEA
The scion of the Bush family, who is currently Texas land commissioner, has broken with other members of the Bush clan, who have either pointedly abstained or said they would not vote for Trump. “From Team Bush, it's a bitter pill to swallow, but you know what? You get back up and you help the man that won, and you make sure that we stop Hillary Clinton,” he said. (August 6, 2016)
Chris Shays: NAY
A longtime moderate Republican U.S. representative from Connecticut who lost his seat in 2008, Shays has endorsed Hillary Clinton. “I think many Republicans know Donald Trump could cause great damage to our country and the world at large, and still plan to vote for him. But not me,” Shays wrote for CNN. He said he backs Clinton not reluctantly but with “strong conviction.” (August 10, 2016)
Richard Viguerie: YEA
The direct-mail pioneer and social-conservative elder statesman was once a Trump critic, saying in February, “I’m just very concerned about his mental stability and his moral background, or lack thereof, which he brags about. He has no grounds that drive him morally.” More recently, however, he has taken to praising Trump. “I haven't seen anything like this since the 1980 Reagan campaign against Carter,” he said. (September 2, 2016)
Carly Fiorina: YEA (was ABSTAIN)
Speaking to the Washington State Republican Party Thursday night, the former presidential candidate said, “We must have President Trump—we can't have President Clinton.” She is reportedly considering a run for RNC chair. (September 9, 2016)
Fiorina, who briefly served as Ted Cruz’s running mate before he left the race, feuded with Trump during the primary, particularly over disparaging comments he made about her face. She had not endorsed him publicly, and her spokeswoman told The Washington Examiner in June that she was focusing on down-ballot races.
Representatives
Paul Ryan: YEA (was UNDECIDED)
The House speaker once again affirmed his backing for Trump, offering the-less-than-resounding statement, “That’s not my plan. I don’t have a plan to do that.” (June 16, 2016)
has condemned Trump’s attacks on Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s as “absolutely unacceptable,” saying, “Claiming a person can’t do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment,” but adding that he isn’t dropping his support for Trump. (June 7, 2016)
Ryan previously announced that he will vote for Trump:
I'll be voting for @realDonaldTrump this fall. I'm confident he will help turn the House GOP's agenda into laws. https://t.co/LyaT16khJw
— Paul Ryan (@PRyan) June 2, 2016
Ryan said he had become convinced that Trump would help Ryan enact his House agenda. (June 2, 2016)
Ryan initially said he intended to support the Republican nominee, but after Trump clinched the nomination, he said he was not yet prepared to back Trump. “To be perfectly candid with you, I’m just not ready to that at this point,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I’m not there. I hope to, and I want to.” He said the party needs “a standard-bearer that bears our standards.” (May 5, 2016)
Kevin McCarthy: YEA
The House majority leader, a Californian, has broken with Speaker Paul Ryan and will back Trump. McCarthy has signed up as a prospective delegate for Trump in the Golden State. (May 10, 2016)
Steve Scalise: YEA
The House majority whip, a Louisiana representative, offered Trump a tepid endorsement. (The two men share the dubious distinction of being linked politically to David Duke.) “I've always said that I will support the Republican nominee,” Scalise said. “Now is the time for for our party to unite around Donald Trump so that we can focus on defeating Hillary Clinton in November to prevent another four years of job-killing, big government policies so we can get our economy back on track.” (May 5, 2016)
Cathy McMorris Rodgers: YEA (formerly UNDECIDED)
The Washington representative, who is chair of the House Republican Caucus, offered Trump a tepid endorsement, pointing out that he was the choice of primary voters, but adding, “In the months ahead, he will have to earn the presidency by demonstrating that he has the temperament for the job and plans to empower every American to pursue a future of opportunity and freedom.” (May 19, 2016)
McMorris Rodgers previously said she had not made up her mind. “Before I endorse him, I would like to have a conversation with him. I would like to ask him questions about some of the statements he’s made,” she told The Spokesman-Review. (May 5, 2016)
Raul Labrador: YEA
The Idaho congressman, a Tea Party hero, tepidly backs Trump after opposing him in the primary and backing Cruz. “There are some things he doesn’t quite understand,” Labrador told The Huffington Post. “With Trump, I have at least some hope that he’s going to make the right choice.”
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: NAY
The senior member of the Florida congressional delegation says she will write Jeb Bush’s name in on the ballot in November. (August 11, 2016)
Ros-Lehtinen, who was born in Cuba and emigrated to the United States, has said she will not vote for Trump. “I will work with whomever is chosen by the American people to serve as president, because I deeply respect the American constitutional system,” she said in a statement. “In this election, I do not support either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.” (May 6, 2016)
Fred Upton: ABSTAIN
The longtime Michigan congressman (and, true fact, uncle of Kate) says he will not endorse Trump, though he stopped short of saying he would not vote for him. “There’s a lot of things that folks are not happy about with either of these two candidates,” he said during a radio interview. “We’re running our own race, and don’t look for me to endorse anyone in this race probably the rest of the year.” (June 16, 2016)
Richard Hanna: NAY
Hanna, a retiring congressman who represents a swing district in central New York, is the first House Republican to say he will vote for Hillary Clinton. “For me, it is not enough to simply denounce [Trump’s] comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country,” Hanna wrote in the Syracuse Post-Standard. “Secretary Clinton has issues that depending on where one stands can be viewed as great or small…. While I disagree with her on many issues, I will vote for Mrs. Clinton.” (August 2, 2016)
Charlie Dent: NAY
Dent, a moderate Republican who represents southeastern Pennsylvania, said he doesn’t intend to vote for Trump or Clinton. “I’m not planning to vote for either of the two major-party nominees and I’m not ready to say I’m going to vote for the libertarians either,” he told Jake Tapper. (August 2, 2016)
Adam Kinzinger: NAY
The Illinois representative, a former Air Force pilot hails from a district west and south of Chicago, criticized Ted Cruz when he didn’t endorse Trump at the RNC. But then after Trump suggested not supporting NATO allies, Kinzinger described the idea as “utterly disastrous,” and he now tells CNN, “I don't see how I can get there anymore.” (August 3, 2016)
Mike Coffman: UNDECIDED
In a new television ad, the Colorado representative says, “People ask me, 'What do you think about Trump?' Honestly, I don't care for him much. And I certainly don't trust Hillary." He promises to “stand up to” Trump. A spokeswoman says he is considering other candidates, but he has not ruled out voting for the nominee. (August 4, 2016)
Bob Dold: NAY
The Illinois congressman, who represents the northern suburbs of Chicago, was among the first Republicans to say he would not vote for Trump. “Whether it be Mr. Trump’s comments about women, his comments about Muslims, his comments about Latinos, for me it was very personal his comments about POWs,” Dold told WLS in May, adding, “I want to make that I’m clear about this, I’m not going to support Hillary Clinton either. I would write someone in.” (May 6, 2016)
Scott Rigell: NAY
The Virginia congressman, who represents the Virginia Beach area, has become the first Republican member of Congress to say that he will vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson. Rigell says he long ago decided he could not back Trump. “When their own conscience is seared by some statement that Trump has made, I have encouraged them to be direct and also, in a timely manner, repudiate what he said,” he told The New York Times. (August 7, 2016)
Dave Reichert: UNDECIDED
The Washington congressman, who represents a district just east of Seattle, said in an interview with KIRO radio that he would “never” endorse Trump. But he also said he wouldn’t vote for Clinton, and when pressed on whether he would vote for Trump, he added, “I never said I wouldn’t vote for him, I just said I wouldn’t endorse him.” (August 11, 2016)
Mark Sanford: YEA
The South Carolina conservative and former governor (as you may recall) is backing Trump—he writes in a New York Times op-ed calling on the nominee to release his tax returns. “I am a conservative Republican who, though I have no stomach for his personal style and his penchant for regularly demeaning others, intends to support my party’s nominee because of the importance of filling the existing vacancy on the Supreme Court, and others that might open in the next four years.” (August 16, 2016)
Reid Ribble: NAY
The Wisconsin congressman has consistently been an outspoken Trump critic. He said in December that he would not back Trump if he became the nominee. In June, he said Trump was “likely to be a racist.” Now, along with Representative Scott Rigell and a slew of operatives, he has signed a letter asking the RNC to withdraw resources from the Trump campaign and concentrate on holding Congress. (August 16, 2016)
Mac Thornberry: UNDECIDED
Thornberry, a Texan who heads the House Armed Services Committee, has not endorsed Trump and skipped the Republican National Convention. Asked repeatedly on MSNBC whether he had confidence in Trump’s qualifications to serve as commander-in-chief, Thornberry deflected, saying he had concerns about both Trump and Hillary Clinton. (September 7, 2016)
Senators
Mitch McConnell: YEA
The Senate majority leader issued a statement tepidly backing Trump. “I have committed to supporting the nominee chosen by Republican voters, and Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee is now on the verge of clinching that nomination,” he said. (May 4, 2016)
Ted Cruz: APPARENT NAY (was UNDECIDED)
The Texas senator made his opinion about Trump fairly clear when he was given a prized speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Cruz refused to endorse the nominee, offering some barbed, double-edged comments like this: “Don’t stay home in November. Stand, and speak, and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution.” He was booed off the stage. Trump then said he’d refuse to accept Cruz’s endorsement if offered, which doesn’t seem likely to be an issue.
Cruz had previously floated the idea—likely unrealistic—of reanimating his suspending campaign and refused to endorse Trump. “We’ll see what happens as the months go forward, I think we need to watch and see what the candidates say and do,” he told Glenn Beck. (May 10, 2016)
In dropping out of the Republican race after losing to Trump, Cruz did not make any indication whether he was willing to back his rival. (May 3, 2016)
Jeff Sessions: YEA
The Alabama senator was Trump’s first endorser from the Senate, and he has been a high-profile backer and adviser to Trump’s campaign.
Susan Collins: NAY (was UNDECIDED)
The moderate Maine senator writes in a Washington Post column that she has decided she cannot vote for Trump. “I have become increasingly dismayed by his constant stream of cruel comments and his inability to admit error or apologize,” she writes. “But it was his attacks directed at people who could not respond on an equal footing—either because they do not share his power or stature or because professional responsibility precluded them from engaging at such a level—that revealed Mr. Trump as unworthy of being our president.” She has not said for whom she will vote. (August 9, 2016)
Collins previously told Time that she was in wait-and-see mode. “I’ve said from the point that it became obvious that Donald Trump was going to be the Republican candidate that I’d always supported previous presidential nominees of my party but that in this case I was going to wait and see what happened and that is what I am continuing to do.” (June 7, 2016)
Having previously said that her backing from Trump would be contingent upon a shift in his rhetoric, Collins then said she would support the nominee. (May 6, 2016)
Collins said: “I have always supported the Republican nominee for president, and I suspect I would do so this year, but I do want see what Donald Trump does from here on out.” To win her vote, “He’s going to have stop with gratuitous personal insults,” she said, amusingly. (May 4, 2016)
John McCain: YEA
The Arizona senator and 2008 GOP presidential nominee, who is in a tight reelection battle, released a scorching statement criticizing Trump for his comments about Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan, but he did not revoke his support. (August 1, 2016)
McCain has said publicly that he’ll back the nominee. In a private recording obtained by Politico, however, he frets that Trump endangers his reelection effort, while his former top aide Mark Salter is backing Clinton. (May 5, 2016)
Kelly Ayotte: YEA
Like her friend John McCain, the New Hampshire senator attacked Trump for his feud with Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan, pronouncing herself “appalled” but giving no indication that she will withdraw backing for Trump. (August 1, 2016)
Ayotte, who is also in a tight reelection battle, previously said she plans to “support” but not “endorse” Trump, whatever that means. (May 5, 2016)
Rand Paul: YEA
In a fascinating interview with WDRB (via Reason), the Kentucky senator and former presidential candidate said citizens should vote their conscience, while suggesting that he was only publicly backing Trump because he had pledged during the primary to support the nominee. “I've made my complaints about our nominee quite explicit. I continue to do so, but also don't see it as my job now—the thing is, is: I do think that my word is important. I signed a document, not under duress, but I signed a document saying I wouldn't run as a third party and I will support the nominee.” (August 2, 2016)
Paul has said he will support Trump. (His father, ex-congressman and presidential contender Ron Paul, says he will not.) (May 4, 2016)
Lindsey Graham: NAY
The South Carolina senator and former presidential candidate blasted Trump following the nominee’s attacks on Judge Gonzalo Curiel, saying fellow Republicans should withdraw their endorsements. “This is the most un-American thing from a politician since Joe McCarthy,” he said. “If anybody was looking for an off-ramp, this is probably it. There’ll come a time when the love of country will trump hatred of Hillary.” (June 7, 2016)
Graham was one of Trump’s most prominent critics during the primary, even endorsing Cruz even though he’d previously likened the choice between him and Trump to a choice between poisoning and being shot. The day Trump won Indiana, Graham tweeted:
If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed.......and we will deserve it.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) May 3, 2016
Graham says he will not vote for either Trump or Clinton. (May 6, 2016)
Ben Sasse: NAY
The Nebraska freshman senator was another anti-Trump ringleader, and has been suggested as a third-party candidate. In a long Facebook post, he explained why he’s still not backing Trump. (May 4, 2016)
Marco Rubio: SOFT YEA
The Florida senator and former presidential candidate said he does not plan to attend the Republican National Convention, but he has not made any statement changing his stance on Trump. (July 6, 2016)
In an interview with The Weekly Standard, Rubio said that although he has backed Trump, who he views as preferable to Hillary Clinton, he still believes what he said during the presidential campaign: That Trump is unfit for the presidency and cannot be trusted with the nation’s nuclear arsenal. (June 9, 2016)
Rubio, who previously referred to Trump as a “con artist,” now says he backs Trump, will attend the Republican National Convention, and will release his remaining delegates to Trump. “I want to be helpful. I don't want to be harmful, because I don't want Hillary Clinton to be president,” he told Jake Tapper. (May 26, 2016)
Rubio had previously not spoken about the race since Trump became the presumptive nominee, but in late April he said that he’d support Trump in order to beat Hillary Clinton. (April 21, 2016)
Rob Portman: YEA
The Ohio senator, who’s locked in a tough reelection fight, has previously said he’d back the Republican nominee. Most recently, he said that having Trump on the ticket would be positive for his own hopes. (May 5, 2016)
Richard Burr: YEA
The North Carolinian, who also faces a tough reelection, supports Trump. (May 4, 2016)
2/3: I look forward to working with Mr. Trump at the top of the ticket and to maintaining a #GOP Senate.
— Richard Burr (@Burrforsenate) May 4, 2016
Roy Blunt: YEA
The Missourian, who is up for reelection, says he will support the nominee. (May, 5, 2016)
Ron Johnson: YEA
The Wisconsin senator, who is battling predecessor Russ Feingold, is one of the most precarious Republicans this year. He tepidly backed Trump. “As Ron has repeatedly said for months, he intends to support the Republican nominee, but he's focused on the concerns of Wisconsinites—not national political winds,” a spokesman told Roll Call. (May 5, 2016)
Pat Toomey: UNDECIDED
The Pennsylvania senator, another endangered incumbent, has not made up his mind. “As I have said repeatedly, I have not endorsed Donald Trump,” he said at a press conference. “There are things that he has said, a number of things he has said and done that give me great pause and I have significant concerns about, so I remain in a mode of waiting to be persuaded. I’ve not made a final decision on what I’m going to do. Hillary Clinton is completely unacceptable to me.” (August 10, 2016)
Toomey previously said: “It certainly looks like Donald Trump is on his way to the nomination .… Donald Trump was not my first choice. He wasn’t my second choice or third or fourth choice. I have lots have differences with Donald Trump and lots of problems with him but I am absolutely in the ‘never Hillary Clinton’ camp.” (May 4, 2016)
Mark Kirk: NAY (was YEA)
The Illinois senator, one of this year’s most endangered incumbents, says he will write in Colin Powell for president. (August 11, 2016)
Kirk previously announced that he is no longer supporting Donald Trump—the first Republican to rescind his backing. “After much consideration, I have concluded that Donald Trump has not demonstrated the temperament necessary to assume the greatest office in the world,” he said. (June 7, 2016)
Kirk previously said he’d back Trump if nominated.
Tom Cotton: YEA
The rising-star Arkansas senator weakly endorsed Trump. “I’ve long said that I will support the Republican nominee because we can’t afford a third Obama-Clinton term,” he said. He had previously criticized Trump for mocking John McCain, but also said Trump would be “a more serious leader for our country” that Clinton. (May 5, 2016)
Bob Corker: YEA
The Tennessee senator, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has said he is willing to help Trump. Corker praised Trump’s otherwise widely panned foreign-policy address and is reportedly talking to him about overseas matters. He’s been mentioned as VP candidate. (May 10, 2016)
Mike Lee: UNDECIDED
Lee, a conservative Utahan and close associate of Ted Cruz, has not made his decision, but lashed out at conservative radio host Steve Malzberg for pressing him to back Trump. “We can get into the fact that he accused my best friend’s father of conspiring to kill JFK,” he said. “We can go through the fact that he’s made statements that some have identified correctly as religiously intolerant. We can get into the fact that he’s wildly unpopular in my state, in part because my state consists of people who are members of a religious minority church.” He didn’t, however, rule out backing Trump in the future. (June 30, 2016)
Lee previously expressed reservations. “I have not supported Donald Trump up to this point, I have not endorsed him," Lee said, according to the Washington Examiner. "I have some concerns with him. He scares me to death; so does Hillary Clinton …. I'll make the decision as best I can, but I'm not there yet.” (May 11, 2016)
Orrin Hatch: YEA
The Utah senator, a longtime Washington fixture, backed Marco Rubio in the primary. After meeting with Trump on May 12, he said, “I totally endorse him.” Hatch also offered to help Trump pick Supreme Court nominees—moving to dampen one of the biggest conservative objections to Trump, which is that he can’t be trusted to select justices. (May 12, 2016)
Tim Scott: YEA
The South Carolinian, the GOP’s only black senator, quietly backed Trump after supporting Marco Rubio in the primary. He called Trump’s comments about Judge Gonzalo Curiel “racially toxic,” but is not rescinding his endorsement. (June 7, 2016)
Jeff Flake: NAY
The Arizona senator says he cannot at this point back Trump. “It’s uncomfortable not having endorsed the Republican nominee, I have to say,” he said. “But I can’t at this point. I hope to be able to support the nominee. I certainly can't right now.” (June 7, 2016)
John Cornyn: YEA
The Texas senator said in May, “I’m for the nominee of the party; if it’s Donald Trump, I’ll support him wholeheartedly.” He’s gone back and forth, warning in February that Trump could be “an albatross around the down-ballot races.” More recently, he’s announced he simply won’t talk about Trump. “Wish me luck,” he said. (June 15, 2016)
Dean Heller: SOFT NAY
The Nevada senator told Politico he is currently opposed to Trump, though he wouldn’t rule out changing his mind. “Today, I’m opposed to his campaign,” he said. “He did a lot of damage. It’s very difficult for him, as far as I’m concerned, to recover from his previous comments. I’ll give him a chance, but at this point, I have no intentions of voting for him.” (June 30, 2016)
Lisa Murkowski: UNDECIDED
The Alaska senator, who has turned particularly moderate since the 2010 election, in which she lost a GOP primary but won reelection as a write-in candidate, tells the AP she has not made up her mind about the election. “I’ve got a few months to listen, as other Americans are, to what is laid down in terms of policy, and we'll figure it out,” she said. (August 10, 2016)
Cory Gardner: YEA
At a rally, the Colorado senator gave Trump a backhanded endorsement. “I’m voting Republican up and down the ticket. A Republican president will make a difference, even a Republican president named Donald Trump,” he said. Gardner previously called Trump a “buffoon.” (August 18, 2016)
Governors
Chris Christie: YEA
The New Jersey governor and former presidential candidate was Trump’s first major establishment endorser, and has been a staunch ally.
Paul LePage: YEA
Maine’s sometimes-racist governor had backed Christie, but he quickly endorsed Trump after Christie did.
John Kasich: SOFT NAY
The Ohio governor and final Republican challenger to leave the race has not entirely slammed the door on backing Trump, but he said he cannot do so now. “We’ll see where it ends up. I’m not making any final decision yet, but at this point, I just can’t do it,” he said. (June 16, 2016)
Kasich previously had not said whether he’ll back Trump. In his comments leaving the race, Kasich pointedly did not mention Trump or indicate his leaning. (May 4, 2016)
Nikki Haley: YEA
The governor of South Carolina tangled with Trump ahead of that state’s primary, and was elegantly withering toward him at the time. But she says she will back him. “I have great respect for the will of the people, and as I have always said, I will support the Republican nominee for president,” she said. (May 4, 2016)
Brian Sandoval: UNDECIDED (was YEA)
The Nevada governor, a moderate conservative, once said he would back the GOP nominee, but now says he is “not sure.” “I will only say that you can't defend the indefensible," he said after Trump attacked Judge Gonzalo Curiel. (June 7, 2016)
Sandoval previously said he was no fan of Trump but will back him. “I plan to vote for the presumptive nominee although it is no secret that we do not agree on every issue. Elections are about making choices and the Democratic nominee is simply not an option,” he wrote on Facebook. He does not plan to attend the convention. (May 5, 2016)
Pete Ricketts: YEA
The Nebraska governor will back Trump. That’s a bit of a surprise because Ricketts’ father, mother, and brother were among the leading bankrollers of anti-Trump initiatives. Trump threatened them in February, tweeting, “They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!” (May 5, 2016)
Mike Pence: YEA
The Indiana governor and social conservative is now Donald Trump’s running mate and the Republican vice-presidential candidate. (July 15, 2016)
Pence previously cautiously endorsed Cruz ahead of the Hoosier State primary, but he’s now on the Trump train. “I’m fully supportive of our presumptive nominee, and I do think Donald Trump will do well in the State of Indiana,” he said. (May 6, 2016)
Charlie Baker: NAY
The moderate Massachusetts governor told reporters he would not vote for Trump and doubted he’d vote for Clinton. Later the same day, a spokeswoman clarified to The Boston Globe: “Governor Baker will not be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.” (May 4, 2016)
Rick Snyder: ABSTAIN
Michigan’s governor—a rising GOP star until the Flint water scandal derailed his career—will not endorse Trump, nor will he weigh in otherwise, he said. “I’ve stayed out of the whole thing, and I’m going to continue to,” he told the editorial board of The Detroit News. “I’ve got important things I want to work on in Michigan.” (June 2, 2016)
Pat McCrory: YEA
The North Carolina governor, facing a tough reelection fight in November, offered a pro-forma endorsement for Trump when pressed by a News and Observer reporter: “I’ve stated that I would support the Republican nominee. Anything else?” (June 7, 2016)
Scott Walker: YEA (was UNDECIDED)
The Wisconsin governor, a former presidential rival of Trump’s, stayed out of the race for some time. In an energetic speech at the Republican National Convention, he made the case for Trump by assailing Hillary Clinton. “America deserves better,” he said. (July 20, 2016)
Walker previously said he’d back Trump—though don’t ask him to be happy about it, or even use the candidate’s name:
Last August, I said I'd support the GOP nominee. It's now clear who the RNC delegates will vote to nominate. And he is better than she is.
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) July 6, 2016
Walker also told WKOW that he will be speaking at the Republican National Convention. (July 6, 2016)
Walker had been fairly quiet about the race. Although he initially said he intended to back the nominee, whoever that was, he later hedged, lamenting the “poor choices” Americans face. He declined to endorse Trump, citing his comments about Judge Gonzalo Curiel. “He’s not yet the nominee. Officially that won’t happen until the middle of July, and so for me that’s kind of the timeframe,” Walker said. “In particular I want to make sure that he renounces what he says, at least in regards to this judge.” (June 8, 2016)
Larry Hogan: NAY (was ABSTAIN)
The governor of Maryland told The Washington Post he does not intend to vote for Trump. “No, I don’t plan to,” he said. “I guess when I get behind the curtain I’ll have to figure it out. Maybe write someone in. I’m not sure.” (June 15, 2016)
Hogan has repeatedly expressed his disgust with Trump and tried to deflect conversations about national politics. “My thoughts are pretty clear. I’ve talked about it ad nauseam for four or five months,” he said. “My thoughts haven’t changed. I have nothing more to add. I’m not involved in it. I don’t care to be involved in it. I’m not going to endorse anyone and would rather focus on things here in Maryland.” Hogan said he didn’t know who he’d vote for. (June 9, 2016)
Susana Martinez: UNDECIDED
The New Mexico governor was initially mentioned as a VP candidate—not the first time, since as a woman and Hispanic she’d add a lot of diversity to a GOP ticket. But she and Trump have since waged a war of words, with Trump first applauding her, then blasting her, then saying he’d like her endorsement. Martinez has not endorsed Trump, but says she will not be backing Hillary Clinton. (June 16, 2016)
Cabinet Members and Political Appointees
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