“If he doesn’t resign or offer a groveling apology, I’ll be pleasantly shocked.”
1. This will be the advice of his political advisors.
2. An apology will guarantee his defeat.
The people he is apologizing to will never accept it. Conversely, the people that agree with him will be turned off by his apology.
When the cat is out of the bag, the best thing to do is to be proud of the cat.
Remember, gay marriage was voted DOWN in California, of all places, even though polls showed the vast majority of Californians approved of gay marriage.
The majority of Americans are not on board with the gay lifestyle. They sure as heck aren’t on board with trans (especially transitioning children).
Are they going to tell a polster that? Heck no. They know the personal penalties they might suffer from the PC crowd. So, they keep their beliefs to themselves. But, they still vote their personal beliefs.
You're right. The first group will know his apology isn't sincere and the second group might be afraid it is. Better to just let it be.