Polygraph

At least a dozen House Republicans publicly stated over the weekend in October 2016 that they did not want Donald Trump to be the party's nominee.

Posted by Bannon`s War Room, Checked

Polygraph verdictTrue
Sources
6 support
Said
1 time·
Confidence
85%
Bannon`s War RoomOct 7, 2026
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47 claimsThe check →

Multiple sources from October 8-12, 2016 report that a substantial number of House Republicans publicly broke with Trump over the 2005 tape weekend, with Roll Call counting 53 Republican members of Congress overall and sources like the Denver Post and MPR reporting more than two dozen to over 30 Republicans calling for him to drop out, including several House members.

What was said

… This was a conference call that was set up by Speaker Ryan so that he might talk with the 246 Republican colleagues he has in the House of Representatives, clearly orchestrated by the leadership to address the members' concerns. At least a dozen House Republicans over the weekend had publicly said that they did not want Donald Trump to be their party's nominee. Now, there are 246 Republicans, so about a dozen is a small minority of the House Republican Caucus, but Speaker Ryan tells members today that he will not campaign with Donald Trump, he will not defend his statements, and he will focus exclusively over these …
Bannon`s War Room · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. Roll Call (Oct. 12, 2016) counts 53 Republican members of Congress who publicly declared opposition to Trump, including multiple House members, and most defections occurred within days of the tape's release.[4]

Supports. Denver Post and MPR report that by Oct. 8 more than two dozen Republican lawmakers, and more than 30 by Oct. 10, had called on Trump to leave the race, with many from competitive districts.[5][6]

Supports. AP and NPR report Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) called for Trump to step aside, and NPR reports Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL) said she could not support him, both House members, on the weekend of October 8.[1][2]

Supports. NBC News reports that over the weekend dozens of Republican leaders publicly renounced Trump and many demanded the party replace him.[3]

Context. Some lawmakers reversed course within days, and not every House Republican opposed Trump; the claim does not depend on these reversals.[4][6]

Sources

6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 tier 2, 3 not rated

  1. 1The Latest: Utah's Lee calls on Trump to quit after apologyapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
  2. 2Republicans Call For Donald Trump To Drop Out; Trump Says He Won't Quitnpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
  3. 3Trump leads his base into battle as GOP civil war breaks outnbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
  4. 4Republicans in Congress Against Trump - Roll Callrollcall.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
  5. 5Growing list of Republicans calling for Donald Trump to ...denverpost.com · not rated · cited for: supports
  6. 6Speaker Ryan tells GOP lawmakers he won't defend Trumpmprnews.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context

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