Pat Toomey has turned himself into a national laughingstock. Despite months of questioning, he’s somehow convinced himself that voters don’t care if he’s voting for Donald Trump. The folly of this self-delusion was on full display this morning. In an interview on Good Morning Philadelphia, Toomey made a fool of himself — dodging and ignoring 10 direct questions on who he plans to vote for in less than five days.
Watch the highlights, the full interview, or read a partial transcript…
1.
HOST: We’re five days away, are you going to vote for Donald Trump?
TOOMEY: It’s the same dilemma.
2.
HOST: But are you going to vote for him?
TOOMEY: So that’s the dilemma.
3.
HOST: But Senator, you’re running out of time. We have five days left!
TOOMEY: I don’t think they’ve opened the polls yet.
4.
HOST: John Kasich over in Ohio says he’s going to write in John McCain. Mitch McConnell came out yesterday and gave somewhat of a tepid endorsement for Donald Trump. Now it’s your turn.
TOOMEY: Yeeeah, we’ll see. We’ll see.
5.
HOST: Can you tell the people you’re going to make this announcement before you’re voting?
TOOMEY: Yeeeah, I probably will.
HOST: Probably?
TOOMEY: Yep.
HOST: Ok…
6.
HOST: Maybe you could sway [the voters] by saying who you’re going to vote for for president?
TOOMEY: Well I hope they’re going to vote for me in the Senate race.
7.
HOST: Alright here’s an out of the blue question: are you going to vote for Donald Trump?
TOOMEY: I’m shocked that you would ask that!
8.
HOST: Are you going to vote for Donald Trump?
TOOMEY: By the way, it’s, it’s, I, I…
9.
HOST: You still haven’t said if you’re voting for him or not.
TOOMEY: This is my point.
10.
HOST: So you don’t think it matters to the people out there who you’re voting for President of the United States?
TOOMEY: I don’t think they care nearly as much as you guys do.
Associated Press: Senator Pat Toomey maintains mystery over Trump vote
Republican U.S. Senator Pat Toomey is staying mum on how he’ll vote for president, as he seeks re-election in a neck-and-neck race with Democrat Katie McGinty in moderate Pennsylvania.
Toomey rebuffed persistent questioning during an appearance earlier today on Philadelphia TV station WTXF about whether he’ll vote for Republican Donald Trump.
Washington Post: Watch a GOP senator spend 10 painful minutes ducking questions about Donald Trump
If Republicans hold onto their majority in the Senate, it won’t be because of moments like this.
In the span of a 10-minute interview with Fox 29 in Philadelphia on Thursday morning, vulnerable Sen. Pat Toomey (R) was asked 10 times by anchors Mike Jerrick and Alex Holley who he’d be voting for in Tuesday’s presidential election. Ten times, Toomey dodged.
Seriously, we counted. It was painful.
The Hill: Toomey dodges Trump questions days before election
Toomey sidestepped or declined to answer multiple questions about if he would vote for the GOP presidential nominee. When an anchor noted he is running out of time, he said, “I don’t think they’ve opened the polls yet.”
… Questioned on whether voters deserved to know his stance on the presidential race, he fired back, “I don’t think they care nearly as much as you guys do.”
Huffington Post: GOP Senator Says He’ll ‘Probably’ Get Around To Letting People Know If He’s Voting For Donald Trump
With just days until election day, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) still won’t say whether he’ll vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
TPM: GOP Sen. Toomey Repeatedly Refuses To Say If He’ll Vote For Trump
Pressed multiple times for an answer in an interview with “Good Morning Philadelphia” Thursday morning, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) refused to say if he would vote for Donald Trump.
Asked by WTXF if he had taken a position on Trump since dodging a question about whether he’d endorse the party’s nominee in a debate with Democratic opponent Katie McGinty, Toomey dodged again.
@FOX29philly: WATCH: GOP incumbent Sen. Toomey refuses to answer question on #Fox29GoodDay – will he vote for @realDonaldTrump ? [WXTF]
@julianrouth: Watch Pat Toomey, again and again and again, refuse to tell @MikeFOX29 and @AlexHolleyFOX29 if he’s voting Trump.fox29.com/news/215274090
@PoliticoKevin: Watch 10 minutes of @PatToomey not answering questions about whether he’ll vote for Donald Trump: fox29.com/news/215274090…#
@tparti: This is painful to watch [BuzzFeed]
@MichaelLaRosaDC: Utterly painful to watch. 5 days out and a U.S. Senator from a swing state doesn’t know who he’s voting for #pasen twitter.com/politicokevin/… [MSNBC]
@Taniel: Toomey is the only GOP Senator who chose this absurd strategy. We’ll see on Tuesday, but I don’t see who it’s supposed to help him with. [FiveThirtyEight, Daily Kos Elections]
@mattshuham: Pat Toomey just can’t say the words “I will vote for Donald Trump.” [TPM]
@politicalwire: Toomey Still Won’t Say If He’ll Vote for Trump [Political Wire]