Donald Trump hits out at Republicans over lack of support

Donald Trump railed against his fellow Republicans on Twitter yesterday, after a week in which many in the party have deserted him following the release of a tape of him boasting about groping women.

The move came as Republicans Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz reaffirmed they were standing by the nominee. Mr Trumpdescribed his party – which he first joined in 1987 before several years as a Democrat and an independent – as disloyal and unable to win, while labelling house speaker Paul Ryan "very weak and ineffective".

Mr Ryan has been a vocal critic of Mr Trump and this week announced he would no longer defend or campaign with him, although he stopped short of formally unendorsing him. Mr Trump’s outburst marked yet another sign of the growing divisions between the candidate and the rest of his party, and the candidate’s willingness to throw political prudence to the wind. “It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to,” he tweeted.

Groping comments

His tirade came days after dozens of elected Republicans abandoned him over a leaked video where he bragged about groping women. The backlash culminated in a conference call on Monday with House Republicans at which Mr Ryan cut Mr Trump loose and seemed to acknowledge

Hillary Clinton

would win.

Shortly after landing in San Antonio for a closed press fundraiser, Mr Trump extended his attacks, railing against 2008 GOP nominee John McCain for withdrawing his endorsement. “The very foul-mouthed Sen John McCain begged for my support during his primary (I gave, he won), then dropped me over locker room remarks!” Mr Trump tweeted.

Mr McCain said he was unable to even offer his party's nominee "conditional support" on Saturday in the wake of "boasts about sexual assaults". Mr Trump once mocked Mr McCain, a decorated war hero, for being captured in the Vietnam War.

‘Better choices’

Mr Rubio, who ran against Trump in the presidential primary, said his position had not changed, after mounting pressure from his opponent in the Florida senate race to dump Mr Trump. “I disagree with him on many things, but I disagree with his opponent on virtually everything,” Mr Rubio said. “I wish we had better choices for president. But I do not want Hillary Clinton to be our next president.”

The senator was trounced by his former rival by 20 points in the Florida primary, and needs Mr Trump’s base of support to be re-elected. His statement came after Mr Cruz reaffirmed his support. “I am supporting the Republican nominee because I think Hillary Clinton is an absolute disaster,” Mr Cruz said on a local Texas station.

Mr Trump attacked Mr Ryan by tweet yesterday: “Despite winning the second debate in a landslide (every poll), it is hard to do well when Paul Ryan and others give zero support!” and then “our very weak and ineffective leader, Paul Ryan, had a bad conference call where his members went wild at his disloyalty”. – (Guardian service)