Yale College Republicans: we're unimportant, also endorsing Trump

Yale's College Republicans have downplayed their endorsement of Donald Trump,

The Yale University College Republicans (YCR) have endorsed Donald Trump, despite their Ivy League peers choosing not to do so.

Recently, a Twitter account that appeared to belong to a member of YCR claimed that the group would not be endorsing Trump. However, in a statement Monday, YCR said the account was “in no way affiliated with our organization” and confirmed that it would actually be supporting Trump’s presidential bid.

YCR noted that while some members oppose the endorsement, it will “remain loyal” to the party and urge voters to “think carefully about the repercussions” of voting for Hillary Clinton.

The YCR statement provided a stark contrast to the scathing denouncement of Trump by the Harvard College Republicans, who called Trump a “threat to the survival” of the country and “antithetical to our values.”

[RELATED: Ivy League CR’s highlight trend of ambivalence toward Trump]

The Harvard denouncement inspired other College Republican clubs to follow suit, as the Princeton CRs refused to endorse Trump and stated it would focus on down-ballot races instead.

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Yale’s Republicans have turned away from their Ivy League counterparts with an official endorsement of Donald Trump.

“Now that the primary is over and the convention has been held, our party, of which we are an official branch and to which we remain loyal, has nominated Donald Trump for president,” the group wrote in its endorsement. “While not every member of our organization supported Trump in the primary, as an organization and branch of the GOP we support Republicans up and down the ballot. And yes, that includes supporting Donald Trump for president.”

[RELATED: Yale students agree their campus restricts free speech]

The group then employed the contentious argument that any vote against Trump is thereby a vote for his opponent Hillary Clinton, encouraging “all other eligible voters to think carefully about the repercussions of trusting Hillary Clinton with our nation’s secrets and future.”

The club’s leaders then defended the endorsement in an op-ed for The Tab, where they explained the endorsement by downplaying its significance.

“To us, it’s not news that a College Republican chapter would support the GOP presidential nominee,” co-chairs Emily Reinwald and Michaela Cloutier wrote. “We’re just not important or influential, especially considering this is the first presidential election in which many of our members can vote.”

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @amber_athey