The rats have been looking for a good reason to flee this sinking ship.
They've found it.
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump...l-ryan-2016-10
AVALANCHE: Top Republicans go scorched earth on Trump after lewd comments about women emerge
Prominent Republicans issued blistering responses to newly disclosed audio of Donald Trump published Friday by The Washington Post in which he said he was able to "grab" women "by the p---y" because "when you're a star they let you do it."
"No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever," Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus said in a statement, in a sharp, unprecedented response about the party's presidential nominee.
The recording, which was picked up by a hot mic, came from an interaction between Trump and television personality Billy Bush and featured the pair using extraordinarily vulgar language to describe women.
Priebus' comments were echoed by a number of top GOP leaders — those in the party's congressional leadership, the party's former presidential nominees, and Trump's former primary rivals.
"Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt America's face to the world," 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney wrote on Twitter.
Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, a frequent critic of the billionaire along the campaign trail, posted to Twitter that "America deserves far better than" Trump. Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, locked in a tough primary against Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, also called the comments "totally inappropriate and offensive." And Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, also in a tight re-election race, called Trump a "malignant clown" on Twitter and said he was "unfit to be president."
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, two of Trump's primary rivals, also issued blistering rebuttals to the current nominee.
"As the grandfather of two precious girls, I find that no apology can excuse away Donald Trump's reprehensible comments degrading women," Bush wrote on Twitter.
Other top Republicans did not offer immediate comment on the remarks. Representatives for House Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, among others, did not immediately respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.
Ryan, Trump, Priebus, and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson are scheduled to appear together Saturday at an event in Wisconsin.
In a Friday statement from Trump, which came almost immediately after the story was posted, Trump called his commentary "locker room banter."
"This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago," Trump said. "Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course — not even close. I apologize if anyone was offended."
The tape began with Trump discussing a failed attempt to seduce a woman. That woman's name was not mentioned in the tape.
"I moved on her and I failed," he said. "I’ll admit it."
According to the Post, the tape was recorded several months after he married his third wife, Melania.
"I did try and f--- her," Trump later said. "She was married. ... And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, 'I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.'"
"I moved on her like a b----, but I couldn’t get there," he continued. "And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony t--- and everything. She’s totally changed her look."
At that point, Trump and Bush noticed the actress, Arianne Zucker, who was waiting to take them onto the set.
"I’ve gotta use some tic tacs, just in case I start kissing her,” Trump said. "You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait."
"And when you’re a star they let you do it," Trump continued. "You can do anything. ... Grab them by the p---y. You can do anything."
The release of the audio comes two days before Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton are scheduled to meet for the second of three debates. Clinton brought up Trump's history of crude comments about women during their first encounter. Earlier this week, Trump suggested many of those past comments were made "for the purpose of entertainment."