Despite denouncing Trump, Katko’s nightmare has become reality
With Trump’s primary victory last night in Indiana, and Ted Cruz’s withdrawal from the presidential race, John Katko now faces a nightmarish scenario this November: sharing the ticket with Donald Trump.
And it’s clear that as the nominee, Trump will continue to put Katko between a rock and a hard place:
- In an editorial board meeting at the beginning of the year, Katko reportedly “blamed Trump for a lack of substance in the GOP presidential campaign.”
- During the same meeting, Katko said of the nominees (including Trump) “I can’t get excited about any of them” and “I hope we can get to the point soon on the Republican side where we talk about what we really stand for.”
- Yesterday, Katko said he wouldn’t be attending the Republican National Convention.
- Last night, WSYR reported that Katko was “not ready to make any endorsements on the same night Donald Trump appears to be the likely Republican nominee.”
Despite all of this, Katko has already pledged to support his party’s nominee – even if it’s Donald Trump.
“Now that Donald Trump is presumptive nominee, vulnerable House Republican John Katko should get the talking points ready for defending Trump and his dangerous views that insult women, trample on the Constitution and make America less safe,” said Bryan Lesswing at the DCCC. “Katko has been avoiding reality and evading the Trump topic, but no amount of distancing and side-stepping can change the fact that Katko is on the Trump ticket and his party has paved the way for his nomination.”