Update Tuesday Afternoon: Republican Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner says he's "disgusted" by Trump's comments.
Illinois Senator Mark Kirk, a Republican up for re-election this fall, says he will not support his party’s presumptive nominee for president, Donald Trump.
In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Kirk slams Trump’s recent comments regarding a Mexican-American judge’s ability to preside impartially over his Trump University lawsuit “dead wrong” and “un-American”. The first-term Senator also cites previous “attacks” on women and the disabled as reasons for his decision.
"After much consideration, I have concluded that Donald Trump has not demonstrated the temperament necessary to assume the greatest office in the world," Kirk said, in the statement.
Kirk previously broke with Republican party leaders in calling for a vote on President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.
Kirk faces Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth in November’s general election. Kirk's full statement is below:
“I have spent my life building bridges and tearing down barriers–not building walls. That’s why I find Donald Trump’s belief that an American-born judge of Mexican descent is incapable of fairly presiding over his case is not only dead wrong, it is un-American.
As the Presidential campaign progressed, I was hoping the rhetoric would tone down and reflect a campaign that was inclusive, thoughtful and principled. While I oppose the Democratic nominee, Donald Trump’s latest statements, in context with past attacks on Hispanics, women and the disabled like me, make it certain that I cannot and will not support my party’s nominee for President regardless of the political impact on my candidacy or the Republican Party.
It is absolutely essential that we are guided by a commander-in-chief with a responsible and proper temperament, discretion and judgment. Our President must be fit to command the most powerful military the world has ever seen, including an arsenal of thousands of nuclear weapons. After much consideration, I have concluded that Donald Trump has not demonstrated the temperament necessary to assume the greatest office in the world.”
