for months, speaker paul d. ryan had chosen to remain largely silent, hoping that his party<u+2019>s nominee for president would simply get across the finish line, dragging congressional republicans across with him. but a 2005 recording made public on friday of donald j. trump speaking in extraordinarily vulgar terms about women became a new bridge too far across a seemingly endless landmass separating civil behavior and mr. trump<u+2019>s campaign for the presidency. mr. ryan responded by uninviting mr. trump from a rally in his home state, wisconsin, on saturday, and said he was <u+201c>sickened<u+201d> by mr. trump<u+2019>s remarks. but even as many congressional republicans, including some very conservative house members, pulled away from mr. trump on saturday, mr. ryan did not go so far as to withdraw his support for the businessman and former reality tv star. mr. ryan<u+2019>s decision keeps him in the political purgatory of endorsing the republican nominee for president while continually having to say why he finds his remarks and policy positions despicable. looking tired and touting the virtues of congressional legislative processes, mr. ryan addressed a crowd of supporters on saturday in elkhorn, wis. some trump supporters could be heard screaming the candidate<u+2019>s name in the background. <u+201c>it is a troubling situation,<u+201d> mr. ryan said, alluding to the situation with mr. trump. <u+201c>that is not what we are here to talk about today. do you know what we do here at fall fest? we talk about ideas.<u+201d> the developments come as republicans are trying desperately in the final weeks of a campaign season to maintain their control of the senate and a firm majority in the house. many are weighing, based on the particulars of their own states and districts and race dynamics, whether now is the moment to move away from mr. trump. in many cases, they are looking to mr. ryan to be their seer. mr. ryan<u+2019>s tepid backing of mr. trump has been less about fear of alienating mr. trump<u+2019>s supporters <u+2014> many republicans in congress need his base of white, high school-educated men to win re-election <u+2014> than about worry of signaling to the thousands of republicans who are ambivalent about mr. trump that they need not vote this year. should those republicans stay home, they could potentially set off a chain reaction down the ballot. a huge turnout collapse would deeply threaten senate republican incumbents and plenty of house members, too. <u+201c> donald trump <u+2019>s lewd comments are the latest in a series of remarks he has made ranging from inappropriate to reprehensible that demonstrate why he is unsuitable for the presidency,<u+201d> said senator susan collins, republican of maine. <u+201c>it was comments like these <u+2014> including the statements he made about john mccain, a disabled reporter, the family of a fallen soldier and more <u+2014> that caused me to decide this summer that i could not support his candidacy,<u+201d> said ms. collins, who is not up for re-election. if mr. ryan were thinking of withdrawing his support from mr. trump, as of saturday, he still had only sent the nominee back to his room to think about his remarks. <u+201c>i hope mr. trump treats this situation with the seriousness it deserves and works to demonstrate to the country that he has greater respect for women than this clip suggests,<u+201d> mr. ryan said. as the most senior elected republican <u+2014> and the party leader who most publicly agonized over his endorsement of mr. trump <u+2014> mr. ryan has for much of this year held outsize importance as the role model for how republicans should deal with mr. trump. his reluctant endorsement was pushed by his rank-and-file, but it also beckoned to others to join the <u+201c>trump train.<u+201d> now, once again, the speaker<u+2019>s actions are under intense scrutiny. the democratic congressional campaign committee released a statement even before mr. ryan uttered a (prepared) word: <u+201c>there have been more than enough <u+2018>final straw<u+2019> moments during this campaign, and speaker ryan has continued to unabashedly put party first in supporting the most repulsive candidate for president that our country has ever seen,<u+201d> kelly ward, the group<u+2019>s executive director, said. <u+201c>if speaker ryan steps away from trump, it will be an act of political expedience and desperate reputation-saving, which won<u+2019>t redeem him or house republicans in the eyes of voters.<u+201d> for scores of elected republicans, mr. trump<u+2019>s clash with parents who lost a son in combat in iraq, his call to ban all muslims from entering the country, his disparagement of a federal judge, his write-off of nearly $1 billion from his taxes and his derision of a former miss universe for gaining weight were not enough to force their hands. but for a growing handful of members of congress, <u+201c>hot mike<u+201d> remarks aimed broadly at more than half the electorate were the final blow. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m out,<u+201d> representative jason chaffetz, republican of utah, told a local television station friday night. <u+201c>i can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. it is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine.<u+201d> but many more continued to ride the line between appalled and resigned. <u+201c>as the father of three daughters,<u+201d> said senator mitch mcconnell of kentucky, the majority leader, <u+201c>i strongly believe that trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape.<u+201d> democrats mocked the <u+201c>template<u+201d> of that <u+201c>father of daughters<u+201d> construction, pointing to nearly a dozen elected republicans who used it. for candidates in swing states, the pressure points have become more intense. this is particularly true in the case of senator kelly ayotte, republican of new hampshire, who is in what many believe to be the tightest re-election race in the country. ms. ayotte, who has awkwardly bounced between distance from and acceptance of mr. trump, found herself in scalding hot water last week by suggesting during a debate with her opponent that mr. trump was a role model . <u+201c>it is beyond comprehension how senator ayotte could continue to support this man for the highest office in the land, let alone call him a role model,<u+201d> said gov. maggie hassan, who is challenging ms. ayotte for her seat. on saturday morning, ms. ayotte completed her move away from mr. trump by saying she would not vote for him . she was followed by representative joe heck, who is running for an open senate seat in nevada. senator ted cruz, republican of texas, last seen in photos looking mildly humiliated as he did phone bank work on behalf of mr. trump <u+2014> a former rival who once put mr. cruz<u+2019>s wife in his twitter cross hairs <u+2014> said on twitter: <u+201c>these comments are disturbing and inappropriate, there is simply no excuse for them.<u+201d> mr. ryan, who many believe wants to run for president himself, has not been actively urging his colleagues to vote for mr. trump, and has instead repeatedly talked about the house republican policy agenda, clinging to a small pamphlet of policy ideas like a talisman in the storm, hoping his image survives. a version of this article appears in print on october 9, 2016, on page a28 of the new york edition with the headline: though he is <u+2018>sickened<u+2019> by remarks, ryan is still a reluctant supporter. order reprints | today's paper | subscribe
paul ryan, reluctant supporter, weighs response to donald trump<u+2019>s remarks
jennifer steinhauer