A Republican Congressman and a Georgia GOP elector are the latest to say they will not vote for Donald Trump.
Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger said he does not see how he can endorse the Republican presidential candidate after his comments this week about the parents of Muslim-American U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I’m an American before I’m a Republican,” Kinzinger said on CNN’s “The Situation Room” on Wednesday.
“I’m saying for me personally, how can I support that? Because he’s crossed so many red lines that a commander in chief or a candidate for commander in chief should never cross,” he added. Kinzinger said he believes that Trump throws Republican principles on their head.
Maura Gillespie, Kinzinger’s communications director said in an emailed statement that for months the congressman has said he wanted to support the GOP candidate.
“He’s not there yet and doesn’t see a path to get there at this time. He will support his colleagues in Illinois and in Congress, and will continue to put the good of the country above partisan politics,” wrote Gillespie.
The congressman said that he would not support Hillary Clinton and was contemplating writing in a candidate on his ballot on Election Day.
Baoky Vu, a Georgia Republican, said on Wednesday he would not vote for Trump in the electoral college.
“I have the right to vote for a write-in candidate in the electoral college,” Vu told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
He had previously released a statement saying he would not support Trump.
“I take my role seriously and in the face of the difficult choice before us, I will always put America First over party and labels,” he said.
“Thus, I will not be voting for Donald Trump in the general election. My conscience is clear but my soul is being tested,” he added.
Vu, a longtime Republican said “Trump’s antics and asinine behavior” shows he lacks “judgment, temperament and gravitas” to be president. Vu, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Saigon, criticized Trump for his comments.
“Throughout the process, he has hurled insults at our heroes and their families, denigrated the disabled and praised dictators. Forget political incorrectness, this is simply despicable demagoguery,” he said.
After announcing his decision, Vu resigned as presidential elector. He was one of 16 Georgia members of the electoral college.
The announcement comes as Trump faced an outcry from within his own party over the comments made about the Khan family as well as his refusal to endorse Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), both of whom are up for re-election. Earlier this week Republican Congressman Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) said he will cross party lines and vote for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in November.
Trump and his campaign have denied that there has been a lack of unity in his party. At a rally in Florida on Wednesday Trump said, “We’ve never been so united.”
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