Senator Deb Fischer, after abandoning GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday in the face of media criticism of his remarks about women in the “Access Hollywood” video, resumed supporting him Tuesday—just two days later.
Fischer said, “I never said I was not voting for the Republican ticket. I would just say to you to look at that statement. … I did say to Mr. Trump it would be wise for him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party’s nominee and he decided he was not stepping aside. I respect his decision. . .”
That’s a complete reversal from as recently as Saturday, when Fischer attacked Trump for making “disgusting and totally unacceptable” comments about women in a 2005 conversation with Billy Bush, George H.W. Bush’s nephew, on the set of Access Hollywood. “It would be wise for him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party’s nominee,” Fischer said.
Fischer’s attack on Trump stunned observers in her home state, because Fischer was widely seen as having stage managed an attack on her fellow Senator Ben Sasse in May when her nephew Sam, introduced a resolution rebuking Sasse at the Nebraska GOP convention.
Deb Fischer claimed not to be involved, but she also made comments showing disapproval of opposing Trump.
“In our system of government it is the people, not the elites in Washington, not the pollsters or opinion page writers, but rather the people who decide,” Fischer said at the convention.
She repudiated those views on Saturday when Trump was being attacked for referring to women’s genitals and talking about trying to have sex with a married woman in a 2005 video. She attacked Trump after Sasse had also called for him to step down. “He can still make a honorable move,” Sasse said in a tweet. “Step aside, and let Mike Pence try.”
When Fischer broke with Trump Saturday, observers suggested that she was making a selfish political move. “Most politicians act in their own interest,” the University of Virginia’s Larry Sabato told the Omaha World Herald.
Fischer might not have enjoyed following Sasse’s lead, given that she’s technically the senior senator from Nebraska.
But it’s more likely that her decision to flip back to Trump came due to criticism she was taking from Trump supporters, especially after Trump’s performance in the presidential debate Sunday night.
Tuesday on Colby Mach’s show, Fischer tried to walk back her Saturday position:
Mach: Will you continue your call for Trump to step aside?
Fischer: “No. Mr. Trump’s made his decision. He’s been clear about it.”
