Many Congressional Republicans, wary of seeing their hopes of maintaining majorities on Capitol Hill, are urging GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to tread lightly mentioning the sex scandals of former President Bill Clinton, Politico reported.
Trump has suggested he might just bring up the former president's infidelities, including his affair with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Trump alluded to that at Monday's debate with Hillary Clinton, saying he planned to be "extremely rough" then decided it might be hurtful to her daughter, Chelsea Clinton.
Still, he suggested he might just bring it up at one of the two remaining debates.
Republicans who talked to Politico suggested he steer clear.
"That's a distraction away from the high ground he's got," Georgia Sen. David Perdue, a Trump supporter, said. "I think talking about the economy and about how the Democrats have failed the economy and the working poor is our high ground.
"All of this [about Bill Clinton] really doesn't matter. People back home are concerned about the economy and security issues."
"I've never been in favor of that and I'm still not," South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said." It's a distraction to the big issues out there that we've got to face."
Republicans control both houses of Congress, and fear that could be jeopardized if Trump talks about Lewinsky and it backfires with undecided voters.
"He oughta stick to how he's going to make life better for the average American worker," Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker said.
But Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said, while he would prefer Trump avoid sex scandals, "I can’t say it's out of bounds, because she's put up with it over and over," and "Bill Clinton is still on the campaign trail with his wife."
Trump surrogate and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions argued, "Women who are plain victims of Bill Clinton's actions were demeaned and attacked in many ways by Hillary Clinton herself. So it undermines her credibility to say she's a champion of women when she was the organizer of the defense of Bill Clinton."