Bryant, Wicker stick with Donald Trump

Published 6:20 am Sunday, October 16, 2016

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Several top Republicans in Mississippi are standing by presidential nominee Donald Trump as he denies accusations that he groped and kissed some women against their will.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker both say they want a Republican president to make the next nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo says that electing Trump and keeping a Republican-controlled House will block “the worst parts of the liberal agenda.”

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The state’s lone Democrat in Washington, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, is calling on his party to unite behind Hillary Clinton. The Greenwood Commonwealth reported that at a Leflore County Democratic Party dinner Thursday, Thompson urged fellow Democrats to get over whatever reservations or disagreements they might have with Clinton and get out the vote.

“There’s still some feeling out there, some problem among some people with putting women in charge,” Thompson said. “Whether you vote for Hillary or against Donald, Democrats will win.”

Thompson derided Trump as someone who doesn’t care about the real issues that matter to ordinary people, such as education and health care.

Bryant said in a Mississippi Republican Party fundraising email Friday that Clinton would nominate Supreme Court justices who could threaten gun rights.

“Donald Trump, on the other hand, will nominate Supreme Court justices who will protect the Constitution and ensure that future generations of Americans continue to enjoy the rights and freedoms the founders intended — not doom American liberty with leftist judges who will take every opportunity to ‘legislate from the bench,'” Bryant said.

Wicker spoke Thursday at a pro-Trump rally in Tupelo, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported (http://bit.ly/2e0CPU1).

Despite some Republicans wavering in support of Trump, Wicker said he doesn’t see the upcoming election as ambiguous or difficult.

“This is not complicated,” Wicker said. “This election is about the Supreme Court. This election is about the Second Amendment. This election is about repealing and replacing Obamacare.”

Before the rally, Wicker said he wasn’t proud of comments Trump made about grabbing women in a 2005 videotape released last week.

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., said in a statement about Trump several days ago: “The remarks made on that video were disrespectful and indefensible, and I trust that the apology for them was sincere. I will continue to support Republican candidates and policies that will make our country safer and stronger.”