Does our Rauner-Trump fact-check still hold up?

A new attack ad from a Democratic Super PAC is making a familiar claim: Gov. Bruce Rauner supports Donald Trump.

The 30-second ad was paid for by the PAC Lift Illinois. The video includes clips of Trump's controversial comments on women, immigrants and the disabled. Following every comment is a portion of a March press conference in which Rauner says he will endorse the Republican nominee, even if it is Trump. (Note: This took place before Trump was officially nominated.)

The ad finishes off by saying, "If Bruce Rauner and Illinois Republicans support Donald Trump after all that, why would we support them?"

If this attack sounds familiar, it's because this claim has been made before. It was the subject of a fact-check for PolitiFact Illinois, Reboot Illinois' partnership with the Pulitzer-prize winning team at PolitiFact. Back in August, House Speaker Michael Madigan accused Rauner of supporting Trump. He said:

"Bruce Rauner is of record that he will fully support the Trump candidacy. It's documented. It’s available." 

We ranked Madigan's statement Mostly True. Rauner distanced himself, but he never went as far as to officially renounce his support for Trump. Because of that, his only definitive statement was from his March statement, "I support the Republican Party's nominee."

Change in attitude?

In the months after making his initial statement vowing to support the Republican nominee -- months during which Trump officially secured the nomination -- Rauner skipped the Republican National Convention and called the rhetoric of the election "ugly" and "weird."

Recently a reporter at an event in Starved Rock State Park asked him to comment on the tape of Trump talking about sexually assaulting women. According to audio provided to Politico, he said: "...the rhetoric in this presidential campaign, appalling, disgusting. And as a father, as a husband, the language is vile and repulsive and I condemn it in the strongest possible way."

But when asked if he still supports Trump, he said, "I've made my comment."

As he has done previously, Rauner addressed the question with neither a denunciation nor an endorsement. Had Madigan made his statement today, we'd still rate it Mostly True.