Sen. Mark Kirk Backs Down From Supporting Donald Trump (UPDATED)

• UPDATED (4:09 p.m. Tuesday, June 7)

After earlier being criticized for backing Donald Trump, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) withdrew his support for the Republican presidential nominee Tuesday.

"Given my military experience, Donald Trump does not have the temperament to command our military or our nuclear arsenal," Kirk wrote in his Twitter feed Tuesday.

RELATED: Watch Mark Kirk Say He'll Back Donald Trump in Tammy Duckworth Ad (VIDEO)

Kirk was even more direct and adamant about his refusal to support Trump's presidential candidacy in a separate statement released Tuesday.

"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," he said.

In April, Rep. Tammy Duckworth, Kirk's Democratic opponent in November's election, launched an attack ad that criticized the incumbent senator for endorsing a Trump presidency if he was the GOP's candidate.

Duckworth on Tuesday released the following statement in response to Kirk's reversal:

“What took so long? Apparently for Mark Kirk, it’s acceptable to refer to Mexicans as rapists; to propose banning Muslims from entering the country; to call women fat pigs and dogs; to mock a reporter’s disability; and to insult just about everyone who doesn’t look like Donald Trump. Until today, and for nearly a year, Kirk was fine with all of that, and even saw a ‘net benefit’ in Trump’s campaign, and offered himself up as a potential adviser. Yesterday, Tammy Duckworth called Senator Kirk’s silence in the face of Trump’s bigotry a betrayal, and we’re standing by our statement."

Kirk wasn't the only Republican leader to go on the attack against the GOP's nominee Tuesday. Although still supporting a Trump presidency, House Speaker Paul Ryan harshly criticized the candidate's racist rhetoric on the campaign trail.

"Saying a person can't do their job because of their race is sort of the textbook definition of a racist comment," Ryan said Tuesday.

Ryan's remarks were directed at Trump's claims that the judge presiding over a lawsuit against one of his ventures was unqualified to hear the case because he's Mexican. Trump has said his comments were misconstrued.

RELATED: Paul Ryan: Donald Trump's A Racist But Better Than Hillary Clinton

Despite displaying such public disapproval, Ryan still stood behind Trump as the best candidate in the upcoming presidential election.

"I do believe that if the alternative is Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, I know for certain that Hillary Clinton's not going to work with us on this agenda," Ryan said in a Fox News interview Tuesday.

"I do know that he is going to work with us to take these principles and these policies and make them law," he added. "And I know for certain that Hillary Clinton will not do that."

Patch will continue to update this story.

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