U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, Republican, speaks to the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts told a Lawrence audience Thursday that he finds Donald Trump’s behavior and comments “abhorrent,” but said he is standing behind the Republican presidential nominee, mainly because he thinks Trump would make better appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court than Democrat Hillary Clinton.

“I consider the Republican nominee’s comments and behavior abhorrent,” Roberts said during a luncheon speech to the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. “And I’m equally concerned about the duplicity and the perfidy on the part of our other candidate.”

Roberts was referring to remarks that were recently revealed in a 2005 video tape in which Trump boasted of making uninvited sexual advances toward women as well as a flood of allegations that have been made since that revelation from specific women who have accused Trump of making unwanted advances toward them, allegations that Trump has vehemently denied.

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, Republican, speaks to the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.

Most other Kansas Republicans have made similar condemnations of Trump’s remarks, while saying they still support him over Democrat Hillary Clinton for president. But Roberts is in a unique position politically because in 1999 he was among the 45 GOP senators who voted to convict then-President Bill Clinton in an impeachment trial that was prompted by charges stemming from a sex scandal.

Also voting to convict Clinton in 1999 was then-Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, the state’s current governor, who also continues to endorse Trump for president.

“I think that charge was obstruction of justice, more than it was behavior that is abhorrent,” Roberts said during an interview after the luncheon, referring to one of the two charges against Clinton at the time. The other charge was perjury, and both stemmed from false statements Clinton made during a sworn deposition in a civil case filed by a woman who accused him of sexual harassment.

But when asked specifically whether he thinks Trump is fit to be president, Roberts paused for several seconds and then said, “Define ‘fit.'”

“I go back to the Supreme Court,” Roberts said. “Regardless of what you think about Mr. Trump’s behavior, at least he has submitted names that I think are more appropriate of judges who will follow the Constitution. I also know that he will go after massive over-regulation, and I also think that he will be more in step with the men and women who wear the uniform and will have their back.”

Clinton was acquitted in that trial after five Republican senators crossed party lines and joined 45 Democrats in voting “not guilty” on both charges. Five more Republicans voted “not guilty” on the perjury charge while voting to convict on the obstruction of justice charge.

Roberts joked about the unusual nature of this year’s presidential race by telling a story about a friend in western Kansas who told him recently, “‘Pat, I’ve got some good news about this national election.’ I said what’s that, and he said, ‘One of these guys is going to lose.'”

“It’s no surprise to me that a lot of people say ‘none of the above’ and want to write in somebody,” he said.

Despite his continuing support for Trump, though, Roberts said he does not believe either party will emerge from the November elections with a large enough majority in Congress to overcome the current gridlock on most issues.

“I think we’ll probably end up with divided government again,” Roberts said. “And that’s hard. It’s extremely hard to get things done. In the House, if it’s of one party they can pass things, but in the Senate we have to have 60 votes.”

When asked by an audience member what he thinks the chances are that Republicans will keep control of the Senate, Roberts said, “I think it’s a coin toss right now.”

“I hope we can maintain control. It’s just a personal thing with me. I’d like to keep the gavel,” he said, referring to his chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “When you have the gavel, what legislation is considered, when it’s considered and how it’s considered is determined by the chairman. I am the chairman and I’d like to continue that.”

Roberts won re-election to his fourth term in the Senate in 2014 after a tough race against independent candidate Greg Orman that drew both national and international attention because it was a race that was crucial to Republicans’ maintaining control of the Senate.

Before he was elected to the Senate in 1996, taking a seat formerly held by Republican Nancy Kassebaum, Roberts served eight terms in the U.S. House representing the 1st Congressional District in western Kansas.