In focus with Chris Stewart on potential Trump presidency

ST. GEORGE – After comparing Donald Trump to Mussolini during the Republican presidential primary, Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, is now saying he will support the nominee.

Stewart endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida throughout the primary, publicly denouncing the GOP front-runner. The Salt Lake Tribune reported Stewart going so far as to call Trump a fascist during a radio interview last March before his state’s caucus.

“Donald Trump does not represent Republican ideals; he is our Mussolini,” Stewart said at the time. “Donald Trump’s approach is, ‘I am just going to do it.’”

In May, however, Stewart began softening his stance when his candidate of choice pulled out of the race and it became evident Trump was going to tie up the Republican nomination.

Now that Trump has formally closed “the deal,” Stewart says he will support the Washington outsider’s run against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

“I have concerns about Mr. Trump, there’s no question about it,” Stewart said during an exclusive interview with St. George News, “but I have enormous concerns about Hillary Clinton.” 


 play-arrow See video excerpt of our Chris Stewart interview top of this report.


One of these concerns is the “top secret” information that was sitting on Clinton’s server that Stewart said had absolutely no security set up to protect it. He called it some of the most “sensitive information” he has ever seen during his time as a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, adding:

“… which was sitting in the basement of her house and had less security than your Gmail account has as the FBI director adequately pointed out.”

Stewart said the country can withstand four years of Clinton but it cannot handle the Supreme Court justices she will have the opportunity to appoint. He is confident, the congressman said, Trump will choose people who understand the Constitution to fill those positions.

“He’s going to nominate people who understand constitutionally the role of the different government agencies – the role of the executive, the role of Congress,” Stewart said. “And to me, that is reason enough to support Mr. Trump.”

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Twitter: @STGnews | @tracie_sullivan

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

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55 Comments

  • godisdead August 8, 2016 at 4:11 pm

    Stewart is more than a joke. He doesn’t acknowledge any science that contradicts his wacko beliefs and, he is supporting a fascist for president (his own words)? He is worthless as a congressman and simply sucking salary and benefits at the taxpayers expense.
    How can anyone trust that egomaniac, narcissist, lying Trump to select any person for any position in the government? He’s just as likely to choose a make believe tv lawyer for the supreme court, as a real one. He’s a repulsive man with small hands.

    • Henry August 9, 2016 at 12:11 pm

      “He’s a repulsive man with small hands.” It sounds like you’re describing yourself and Stewart, little man. You both apparently lack the intellect to make a rational argument, so you engage in demagoguery and smears instead.

      • godisdead August 10, 2016 at 2:32 pm

        My argument is clear, pull your head out, Troll Henry.
        Stewart ignores science.
        Stewart will vote for a man he has called a “facist”.
        Stewart ignores his own ethics when he supports Trump.
        Stewart panders to his big donors, fossil fuel interests, while ignoring his constituents.
        About Trump – his comments are indefensible. He smears himself.
        You make personal attacks toward me, not knowing anything about me. What’s up with that? It’s common for Trolls to bully and try to intimidate others. I suggest you get a new hobby, maybe trying to comprehend what you read, instead of listening to the little voices in your head.

        • Henry August 10, 2016 at 9:39 pm

          You make over-the-top, sexually suggestive attacks, then can’t handle getting called out for it? You have an incendiary screen name like “Godisdead”, and you accuse others of being trolls and bullies? All of your comments on St George News articles reflect a lack of critical thought, relying instead on agitprop and insults. Grow up.

    • RealMcCoy August 9, 2016 at 1:12 pm

      “How can anyone trust that egomaniac, narcissist, lying Hillary*…”

      There, I fixed it for you. You might wan’t to check your auto correct, as it seems to be misspelling Hillary.

  • tcrider August 8, 2016 at 4:13 pm

    I would vote for Rubio, but not this idiot,
    he is unable to say anything with any substance,
    its nothing but junior high school name-calling
    and insults, this ignoramus has a fake two year junior college
    degree and can articulate his hands good with his fake speeches.
    we need a total recall for a real nominee with a law degree that
    knows how to communicate with people.

    • Henry August 9, 2016 at 12:05 pm

      “articulate his hands good…” It sounds like you’re the one with a junior high-level of intelligence.

      • tcrider August 9, 2016 at 7:55 pm

        how about articulate with his hands oh henry you stooge.

        • Henry August 9, 2016 at 10:39 pm

          You articulate with your voice. You gesticulate (or gesture) with your hands. Who has the “fake two year junior college degree”?

          • tcrider August 10, 2016 at 8:22 am

            you can still articulate with your hands oh henry you stooge.
            read it and weep, you get the moron of the week award, http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Articulate

          • Henry August 10, 2016 at 12:35 pm

            tcrider – You are the Moron of All Time. The link that you provided validates what I said; did you even read it?

            Part Two #4 is titled “Use Your Hands”. It states that, “using your hands to gesture can help you explain…..you’ll feel more comfortable if you gesture a little.”

            Do you have a reading comprehension problem, or are you just incredibly stubborn?

          • godisdead August 10, 2016 at 2:50 pm

            What’s up Troll Henry? Rather than express your opinion, you make another personal attack. This type of behavior demonstrates your own insecurity, because anonymously attacking someone makes you feel better. It makes you feel stronger instead of the weak guy you really are.

          • Henry August 10, 2016 at 9:45 pm

            Nice try, Godisdead. tcrider is just like you – another bully who got called out and couldn’t handle it. …
            Ed. ellipsis.

    • ladybugavenger August 10, 2016 at 5:58 pm

      This is funny to read. godisdead has become a doctor and diagnosed me with mental problems and says I force Jesus down his throat and Now he’s going cry about Henry. LMBO!
      I gotta love you godisdead, you’re beliefs are based on science (I prefer forensic science, it’s awesome) (p.s. your science can’t prove God is not real) and you are entertaining.

  • Bender August 8, 2016 at 4:15 pm

    Sure Congressman Stewart, even fascists can be lovable. A jack-booted thug in the big seat is fine as long as he agrees with a few of your positions. JK Chris, you’re the worst kind of partisan hack — a spineless one.

    • Henry August 9, 2016 at 1:02 pm

      Bender – you and Stewart apparently both enjoy engaging in juvenile name calling, with no basis in fact. Look up the definition of fascism: “an authoritarian political system in which the government controls business and labor, and opposition is not permitted.” Compare the words of Hillary and Trump:

      – Hillary supports U.N. Human Rights Commission’s Resolution 16/18, which will make criticism of religion a criminal offense – geared toward prohibiting speech that is “insulting to Islam.”

      – Hillary decried the 2009 Supreme Court ruling of ‘Citizens United vs FEC’ as a “right-wing attack on me…and ended up damaging our entire democracy.” So because a private company was allowed to make a movie about Hillary, the nation’s democracy was damaged?

      – During the recent Democratic National Convention, an 8 foot high perimeter fence was erected almost a mile from the convention hall, in order to keep Bernie Sanders supporters well away from the proceedings.

      – Hillary is planning to expand Obama’s unconstitutional executive action that waived immigration law for young illegal immigrants. She is promising an amnesty bill within her first 100 days in office. Hillary also wants to reward illegal immigrants for breaking the law with American citizenship.

      It appears the “fascist”, “spineless”, “jack-booted thug” is Hillary Clinton.

      • godisdead August 10, 2016 at 2:39 pm

        Henry. It was Stewart calling Trump a facist. Read the original article and quit listening to the voices.

      • godisdead August 10, 2016 at 2:42 pm

        Troll Henry. You need to focus on the original topic, Congressman Stewart. Take a deep breath and try to focus on that and not the voices in your head. Come November, you can vote for whoever you want, even the egomaniac Trump. xoxoxo

        • Henry August 10, 2016 at 10:31 pm

          Try to keep up, Godisdead, you’ve demonstrated that you’re limited intellectually but you can do it. I was addressing the Trump comments; I know that it’s hard for you to get out of your predetermined, narrow lane of thought.

    • Bob August 9, 2016 at 7:27 pm

      hillary and Stewart are cut from the same cloth. both corrupt opportunists to the core

      • .... August 11, 2016 at 10:21 am

        And you’re busy hating Mormons on St George news ! Lmao you fit right in with Hill and Don

  • ladybugavenger August 8, 2016 at 4:17 pm

    Trump for President! I find his narcissism and egomaniacism humorous and appealing 🙂 I like his bullyness, he’s not scared to stand up against evil!

    • .... August 8, 2016 at 9:28 pm

      Trump For President ! What ladybug wants, Ladybug gets.!….♡♡♡

      • ladybugavenger August 9, 2016 at 8:46 am

        Ohhhhh that means I will get my Camaro! Yippieeeeee!

        • .... August 11, 2016 at 10:13 am

          What color would you like it two be ?

          • ladybugavenger August 12, 2016 at 7:56 pm

            Yellow with black rally stripes

  • Pheo August 8, 2016 at 4:19 pm

    He rightly has huge concerns about Trump, but can’t get past the need to support his team. Who cares if Trump blunders us into a war with Russia or actually carries out his stated policy of not only targeting terrorists, but their families? As long as another awful Clinton doesn’t get into office, right?

    Hillary is a deeply flawed candidate. She oozes insincerity. She made a huge mistake by hosting her own email server at State. But she also represents the status quo and there is no reason to believe she would do anything drastically different than what we have been doing for the past 8 years. Things are better than 8 years ago by almost any measure, but for some reason we in Utah want no more of that. Obviously, there are people still suffering in this country, but we have come so far. People have a seriously short memory about where we were 8 years ago.

    Trump on the other hand is our own version of Brexit. He would take us out of NATO, an organization that has been instrumental in keeping Russia in check for almost 70 years. The crazy thing is that Trump keeps talking about all of the things he is going to do, and all his supporters keep insisting that he isn’t serious, that it is all just talk. That just proves that it is about not letting a Clinton win more than anything.

    Trump is not the answer, even if he wasn’t such a small-minded, fragile narcissist on top of all his crazy ideas.

    • RealMcCoy August 9, 2016 at 1:22 pm

      “Things are better than 8 years ago by almost any measure…”

      Better for whom?

      Not the middle class. Not business owners. Not taxpayers. Not America’s racial tensions. Not the safety of real Americans. Not the status of Constitutional law. Not the war on terrorism. Not anyone in a ‘gun free’ zone…

      Oh, did you mean those on welfare? Those with student loans? Medical bills?
      Actually, they aren’t better off either.

      You mean the stock market? Well, that is pumped up with the free FED money, and even that is taking hits as the FED decides to cut back or change their policies…

      I guess as long as you really, really squeeze your eyes shut and cover your ears, and drown yourself in the Clinton News Network, you can still grasp onto that illusion that everything is better than before.

      By the way, what flavor is the koolaid today?

    • Henry August 9, 2016 at 1:28 pm

      Pheo – the gist of your argument seems to be that Hillary made some mistakes, but Trump is much worse. But your argument has several key flaws:

      – “Things are better than 8 years ago by almost any measure…” It is if you’re a one percenter or someone that is milking the system. For the vast majority of Americans it’s not. The measures – whether economic, military, terrorism, race relations, crime, attitudes of citizens, or almost anything else – are almost uniformly worse.

      – “Trump…would take us out of NATO.” That is the verbatim claim of Hillary Clinton. Factcheck.org reviewed that claim on 11 May 2016 and found it not true. They said that “Trump has clearly outlined changes he would like to see made to NATO” and that there are problems “if it isn’t restructured and other nations don’t start to pick up more of the costs. But even that isn’t the same thing as saying that ‘we should pull out of NATO’, as Clinton claims Trump said.”

      Rather than reciting DNC talking points, why not actually use quantifiable, verifiable information?

      • godisdead August 10, 2016 at 3:05 pm

        Troll Henry. Your defense of Trump is hilarious. The crap that comes out of his mouth is no accident. People like you ignore the repulsive and divisive statements that threaten our country’s future.
        The Trump campaign constantly makes excuses for Trump, blaming the media or simply denying what was originally said by Trump.
        It fascinates me how your hate controls your so-called intellect.

        • Henry August 10, 2016 at 9:49 pm

          Poor snowflake. You feel threatened that someone stands up to your agenda, and you call them haters and other defamatory names. Real mature.

  • beacon August 8, 2016 at 5:52 pm

    Vote for Charlene Albarran his opponent. She’s knowledgeable and won’t make a fool of herself as Stewart has done again and again, and this time with Trump, it’s even more disturbing than other times.

  • aviatormh August 9, 2016 at 1:51 am

    Hillary will say anything to get elected. Don’t listen to what she says but look at what she does. She wants to have a gun “buy back” like Australia but that wasn’t voluntary it was mandatory. As Secretary of state she didn’t do what was in America’s best interest she did what was in the Clinton foundation’s best interest. Starting back when Bill was governor how many records have been destroyed from then till now. How many of her friends have committed “suicide”. The simple fact the when Bill was elected president the first thing she did was try and have an innocent man working In the travel office sent to federal prison on false charges so she could put her friends in that position should tell you what kind of person she is. She hired people to intimidate the women Bill slept with to keep them quite so he could get elected. Have you forgotten about all the dead people that voted for her in 2008? She is corrupt to the core and you still think she will do what’s best for the American people? Are you high? She would sell us out in a heartbeat for a dollar. She would send Americans to die fighting so she could close a deal for a dollar. Trump might not be the best choice but are you really going to vote for Hillary? How can you believe anything she says when she lies constantly. Changes her views on issues depending on who she’s talking to. Remember when Bill was president and he didn’t know what his opinion was until after they took a poll and found out which way the wind was blowing? All I can say is if you vote for Hillary you deserve what you’ll get.

    • theone August 9, 2016 at 8:30 am

      A gun buy back? Post the proof of that.

      • Henry August 9, 2016 at 11:54 am

        theone – Google “Hillary gun buy back” and you’ll get 10 links that reference Hillary’s remarks about this subject during a 16 October 2015 townhall in New Hampshire.

        • theone August 9, 2016 at 1:54 pm

          Yeah I’ve seen them and we have also experienced gun buy backs, none of which were mandatory including the ones Hillary suggested.
          Try and keep yourself from believing all the conspiracies you referenced, they’ll only make you crazy.

          • RealMcCoy August 9, 2016 at 3:47 pm

            http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-gun-buybacks_us_56216331e4b02f6a900c5d67

            There are many other articles referencing her comments. Do your own homework to find the rest of them. It takes 30 seconds on for a Google search to find them.

            The Australian Gun Buyback she supports here in the USA was NOT voluntary, it was MANDATORY. It was CONFISCATION with some COMPENSATION. Mandatory means ‘do it, or else face criminal charges’. (Hmmm, sounds like obamacare…)
            Try and keep yourself from believing all the liberal lies you referenced. They’ll only make you sound naive and ignorant.

          • Henry August 9, 2016 at 4:05 pm

            Nice logic fail. You asked for proof, I provided it (10 different links that reference DIRECT QUOTES from Hillary), and you call the linked news stories all “conspiracies”? Is that what you call facts that don’t agree with your obstinate opinions?

            The Australian gun buyback program WAS mandatory:
            – Wikipedia: “Australia had buyback programs in 1996 and 2003. Both programs were compulsory.”
            – USA Today: “The law banned semiautomatic and automatic rifles and shotguns and put in place a mandatory buy-back program for newly banned weapons.”
            – Washington Post: “The law banned semiautomatic and automatic rifles and shotguns. It also instituted a mandatory buy-back program for newly banned weapons.

            Are Wikipedia, USA Today, and the Washington Post now all part of your and Hillary’s “vast right wing conspiracy”?

          • godisdead August 10, 2016 at 3:13 pm

            It always comes down to guns with you guys. Honestly, can you imagine how wonderful this world would be without them ? Conspiracy, black ops, payoffs, get a grip you guys. Everthing you see on the internet isn’t true. Neither is the stuff on Fox news or talk radio. Expand your horizons and follow MSNBC.

          • Henry August 10, 2016 at 9:58 pm

            godisdead – RealMcCoy and I correct a factual error about the Australian gun buyback program, and you extrapolate that out to “conspiracy, black ops, payoffs”? I already view MSNBC, along with a variety of sources on the left and right. Perhaps you need to do the same and broaden your horizons?

  • sagemoon August 9, 2016 at 8:54 am

    Vote Libertarian. Don’t choose either evil, choose different.

    • Sapphire August 9, 2016 at 2:47 pm

      What? Sincerely, no disrespect intended, but who would want to go back to the 1930’s and if you live you live, if you die you die, and no one gives a hoot. Being libertarian means the government doesn’t provide, and you have to take care of your self… you have nothing to fall back on for retirement, welfare, health problems, losing your job… nothing. It means if you are lucky you can make it through this life but if you aren’t then that’s just too bad. I think the US has come a long way in being more civilized and helpful than that. I don’t think anyone actually reads what the libertarian party believes in and how excited Johnson is to get rid of social security and any programs that help people.

    • .... August 11, 2016 at 10:15 am

      Dang tweekers !

  • Not_So_Much August 9, 2016 at 9:00 am

    The R’s and D’s have most thinking there are only two choices. It’s time to at least look at other possibilities including Evan McCullin or the Libertarian or Constitutional Party. If Chris Stewart was half as good as he’d like you to believe, there would be something there to support.

  • Who August 9, 2016 at 10:09 am

    ANY, let me repeat. ANY vote not for Trump is a vote for hillary.

    • Bob August 9, 2016 at 7:40 pm

      ‘the donald’ will not fix 1 thing. expecting voting to change anything is close to delusional at this point

      • Arleen August 11, 2016 at 12:03 am

        Bob, if you decide to not vote for Trump, if you vote you’ll be voting for a 3rd term of Obama. Just hold your nose and think of your grandchildren. Please don’t sell out America, Vote Trump. Thank you

      • .... August 11, 2016 at 10:17 am

        Delusional ? LOL ! Yeah that’s you. Without a doubt

      • ladybugavenger August 12, 2016 at 8:00 pm

        Bob, I thought we were in agreement, come on now Trump for President!

  • aviatormh August 9, 2016 at 8:58 pm

    Pheo if you really believe things are better now than they were 8 years ago maybe you could explain to all of us where all the manufacturing jobs are hiding so we can indulge in the new prosperity with you. Or maybe you could hang a big sign around your neck that says ” quit complaining and get a job. Things are better now” and then spend a week walking around Detroit wearing it. That way you can help spread the good news. I’m certain the people there would be grateful.

  • Arleen August 10, 2016 at 11:58 pm

    Utah all of Utah, Trump is our best choice for Presidency! Mormon’s love honesty, Integrity and he has OUR values. We are honest people and Trump will give all of America the future we want for Our Children and Grandchildren.
    Utah Vote Trump! We need Our Supreme Court to save our country. Like (him) or not we can’t give up our freedom with Crooked Hillary Clinton. Please Utah VOTE TRUMP!!!

  • .... August 11, 2016 at 10:24 am

    Did anybody hear about the Beaver with a wooden leg ?

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