Report: Trump Apologized For ‘Access Hollywood’ Video, Now Says It’s Fake
In October 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump apologized to the nation for crude sexual remarks he made on a 2005 Access Hollywood video.
It was a rare apology for Trump who made numerous controversial remarks during the campaign and never backed down from any of them regardless of what kind of furor they created.
Now Trump is saying that apology was unnecessary, according to a New York Times article.
Trump reportedly told at least two people, a U. S. senator, and an aide that the Access Hollywood video was “not authentic.”
In that video, which was released during the final weeks of his campaign against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Trump appeared to be boasting about his prowess with women to Access Hollywood host Billy Bush, first describing his effort to have sex with Bush’s co-host Nancy O’Dell, then detailing the types of things his celebrity allowed him to do with women, including kissing them without their permission.
“I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it, you can do anything.”
Trump followed that comment by saying women would let you grab their private parts, according to the video.
Although Trump now says the video is not authentic, according to the Times article, he apologized for it a few days after it was released when it appeared his presidential campaign might be falling apart.
The video’s authenticity has also been verified by Bush, who lost his job because of his seeming approval of Trump’s approach to women.
The Access Hollywood tape appeared to be in Trump’s rear view mirror until the recent spate of sexual harassment allegations against men in politics and the entertainment industry, particularly Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore.
Allegations that Moore preyed on teenage girls when he was in his 30s, including a sexual assault on a 14-year-old, have brought calls from top GOP officials, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, for the former Alabama Supreme Court judge to drop out of the race.
Even the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump, though she did not mention Moore by name, made it clear how she felt, saying there is “a special place in hell for people who prey on children,” a comment that angered the president, according to the Times article.
While McConnell, Ryan, and others have suggested Trump talk Moore into resigning, the president made it clear earlier this week that he was firmly in Moore’s corner and reaffirmed his backing in a tweet this morning, indicating he much prefers Moore to his Democratic opponent Doug Jones.
“The last thing we need in Alabama and the U.S. Senate is a Schumer/Pelosi puppet who is WEAK on Crime, WEAK on the Border, Bad for our Military and our great Vets, Bad for our 2nd Amendment, AND WANTS TO RAISES TAXES TO THE SKY. Jones would be a disaster!”
[Featured Image by Alex Brandon/AP Images]
