GOP Texas congressman apologizes for saying he'd 'consider' backing Donald Trump if Trump loved raping women
Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) went on MSNBC's All In With Chris Hayes on Tuesday to advocate for Donald Trump, and he probably wishes he hadn't. When the discussion turned to the 11-year-old recording of Donald Trump boasting into a live mic about how he likes to kiss and grope attractive women, Hayes asked Farenthold "if someone off the record in a locker room — this was not in a locker room, it was workplace — said, 'I really like raping women,' would that be locker room talk?" Farenthold said it depends, "you don't know the entire context of this, but I'm not going to defend Donald Trump on this, I don't, I don't like what he said, and Donald Trump can defend himself."
Hayes cut in, asking, "If a tape came out with Donald Trump saying that, saying 'I really like to rape women,' you would continue to endorse him.'" "Again, it would— I'd— that would be bad," Farenthold answered, "and I would have to consider, I'd consider it."
It was a sneaky hypothetical question from Hayes, and a pretty terrible answer from the Texas Republican. If he'd had time to consider it longer, Farenthold might have answered it differently. Instead, he took to Twitter:
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So Farenthold is not supporting a presidential candidate he believes to love raping women. The voters of Corpus Christi will surely be relieved to hear that.
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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