John Thune called for Donald Trump to withdraw and for Mike Pence to be the nominee.
Posted by Bannon`s War Room, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 95%
Bannon`s War RoomOct 7, 2026
Contemporaneous reporting from October 2016 quotes Thune saying "Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately," so the claim that he called for Trump to withdraw and for Pence to be the nominee is supported.
What was said
… The last two Republican presidential nominees condemned Trump, Mitt Romney calling his comments vile, and Senator John McCain saying there were, quote, no excuses for them. South Dakota Senator John Thune, number three in the Senate Republican leadership, went further, saying Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately. Illinois Republican Senator Mark Kirk, who is in a tough reelection campaign, agreed that Trump should step aside, calling him a malignant clown. …
Bannon`s War Room · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Politico (August 2016 publication dated 2016-08-10 in the record, reporting the Oct. 2016 tweet) quotes Thune's tweet: "Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately."[2]
Supports. NBC News, published 2016-10-08, quotes the same tweet from Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the third-ranking member of the Senate GOP leadership.[3]
Supports. CNN reported that Thune, the No. 3 Senate Republican, called on Trump to "withdraw" and let Pence top the ticket, and FOX 17 carried the same account.[4]
Context. AP's 2024 article confirms Thune called on Trump to withdraw from the race, but says he later backtracked on those comments.[1]
Sources
4 sources: 1 fact-checker, 3 tier 2
- 1Senate Republicans want Trump back in the White House | AP Newsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2No. 3 Senate Republican calls on Trump to withdrawpolitico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 3Donald Trump Defiant as Top Republicans Flee Candidacynbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Trump: ‘Zero chance I’ll quit’ | CNN Politicscnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- John Thune and Mitch McConnell blocked Donald Trump's legislative agenda.Mixed
- Following the release of the Access Hollywood tape in October 2016, Republican establishment figures proposed that Mike Pence replace Donald Trump as the presidential nominee with Condoleezza Rice as the vice-presidential nominee.Mixed
- John Thune is the Senate Majority Leader.True
- Barbara Comstock called for Donald Trump to drop out of the presidential race.True
- Joni Ernst is the only female Republican senator who has not called for Donald Trump to step aside.Can’t tell