--- title: Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk Retracts Donald Trump Endorsement description: Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk retracted his endorsement of Donald Trump, saying the presidential candidate lacks the “temperament” to lead the US canonical: https://time.com/4360450/illinois-senator-mark-kirk-donald-trump/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-07T20:21:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T09:45:24.472Z article:section: Politics og:title: Republican Sen. Mark Kirk Retracts Endorsement of Donald Trump og:description: "I cannot and will not support my party’s nominee for President" og:url: https://time.com/4360450/illinois-senator-mark-kirk-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdedc08d77700dcc8/698896d5196cf4210d03beb1/mark-kirk-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Sen. Mark Kirk og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Republican Sen. Mark Kirk Retracts Endorsement of Donald Trump twitter:description: "I cannot and will not support my party’s nominee for President" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdedc08d77700dcc8/698896d5196cf4210d03beb1/mark-kirk-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk Retracts Donald Trump Endorsement ## Video: Politicians React To Trump's Attack On Trump University Judge [Watch (HLS stream): Politicians React To Trump's Attack On Trump University Judge](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PGN2n8ZY.m3u8) (1:20)  _Published 2016-06-06_  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jun 7, 2016 8:21 PM UTC  Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is pictured here on July 15, 2015. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is pictured here on July 15, 2015.Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call,Inc.  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jun 7, 2016 8:21 PM UTC [Republican Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk](https://twitter.com/MarkKirk/status/740266906922438656) on Tuesday retracted his endorsement of Donald Trump, saying the presidential candidate lacks the “temperament” to lead the country following [comments Trump made](http://time.com/4360328/mitch-mcconnell-donald-trump-minority-groups/?xid=homepage) about a judge’s Mexican heritage. Kirk, who is up for re-election this year in President Barack Obama’s home state, announced he has pulled his support for Trump in a statement that also slammed the mogul’s campaign rhetoric. “I have spent my life building bridges and tearing down barriers—not building walls. That’s why I find Donald Trump’s belief that an American-born judge of Mexican descent is incapable of fairly presiding over his case is not only dead wrong, it is un-American,” the statement said, according to the [Chicago _Sun Times_](http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/sen-mark-kirk-withdraws-support-for-trump/). “As the Presidential campaign progressed, I was hoping the rhetoric would tone down and reflect a campaign that was inclusive, thoughtful and principled,” Kirk added. “While I oppose the Democratic nominee, Donald Trump’s latest statements, in context with past attacks on Hispanics, women and the disabled like me, make it certain that I cannot and will not support my party’s nominee for President regardless of the political impact on my candidacy or the Republican Party.” > [](https://twitter.com/MarkKirk/status/740266906922438656) Trump has come under fire from several GOP leaders who condemned him for suggesting Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a legal case against Trump University, is biased because of his Mexican ancestry. Kirk, earlier this year in [at least two interviews](http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/06/politics/mark-kirk-tammy-duckworth-illinois-senate-donald-trump/) with media outlets, has said he would “certainly” endorse the Republican Party’s nominee. He backtracked on Tuesday, citing the firestorm surrounding the remarks he made about Curiel. “After much consideration, I have concluded that Donald Trump has not demonstrated the temperament necessary to assume the greatest office in the world,” Kirk said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4360450/illinois-senator-mark-kirk-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4360450/illinois-senator-mark-kirk-donald-trump/"},"headline":"Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk Retracts Donald Trump Endorsement","datePublished":"2016-06-07T20:21:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:45:24.472Z","description":"\"I cannot and will not support my party’s nominee for President\"","url":"https://time.com/4360450/illinois-senator-mark-kirk-donald-trump/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdedc08d77700dcc8/698896d5196cf4210d03beb1/mark-kirk-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdedc08d77700dcc8/698896d5196cf4210d03beb1/mark-kirk-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sen. Mark Kirk","caption":"Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is pictured here on July 15, 2015.","creditText":"Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call,Inc.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4360450/illinois-senator-mark-kirk-donald-trump/","name":"Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk Retracts Donald Trump Endorsement"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Politicians React To Trump's Attack On Trump University Judge","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/PGN2n8ZY/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-06-06T22:19:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PGN2n8ZY.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4360450/illinois-senator-mark-kirk-donald-trump/","duration":"PT1M20S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4360450/illinois-senator-mark-kirk-donald-trump/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```