Former Republican Senator Calls For GOP Distance From President Trump

Former Republican Senator John Danforth, of Missouri, says Republicans can't allow President Trump to redefine their party.

John Danforth, former Republican U.S. senator from Missouri from 1976 to 1995.

The Washington Post: The Real Reason Trump Is Not a Republican — "To my fellow Republicans: We cannot allow Donald Trump to redefine the Republican Party. That is what he is doing, as long as we give the impression by our silence that his words are our words and his actions are our actions. We cannot allow that impression to go unchallenged."

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Trump Announces Missouri Visit Just As Former Sen. John Danforth Denounces Him — "Some of the top Republicans in the state are planning to attend Trump’s appearance in Springfield, Mo., next week, notwithstanding former Sen. John C. Danforth’s scathing opinion piece in the Washington Post on Friday calling Trump “the most divisive president in our history.” 'To my fellow Republicans: We cannot allow Donald Trump to redefine the Republican Party,' wrote Danforth, who left the Senate two decades ago but remains a major voice in the Missouri GOP. 'Our country needs a responsibly conservative party. But our party has been corrupted by this hateful man, and it is now in peril.'"