In a new bombshell that could possibly unravel Donald Trump’s presidential bid, a 2005 video has surfaced in which he is caught making lewd and crude comments about women that have at once angered his own party establishment, with some lawmakers demanding that he drop out of the race. The video, obtained by The Washington Post and NBC News, shows Trump not only making vulgar comments about women, but even bragging about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women, going on to boast, “When you’re a star, they (women) let you do it.”
The remarks, made during a conversation with a host of “Access Hollywood” TV show when Trump himself was a reality TV star, were captured by a live microphone while he was proceeding to make a cameo appearance on a soap opera.
“I’ll admit it. I did try and f*** her. She was married,” Trump is heard saying in the video, using graphic terms to describe the woman’s body. “You know I’m automatically attracted to the beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet,” he says, adding at one point, “Grab them (women) by the p****. You can do anything.”
Rattled by the revelations that spread like wildfire and prompted pundits to spell the doom of his chequered campaign, Trump came up with an abject, yet defiant apology.
“I said it, it was wrong, and I apologise,” he said, after his earlier oblique apology fell by the wayside as it sought to explain away the episode as “locker room banter”.
But in both apologies, Trump sought to contrast his conduct with that of former President Bill Clinton.
“I’ve said some foolish things, but there is a big difference between words and actions. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims,” he said in his second apology, tendered in the wee hours of Saturday.
“We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday,” he said, signalling that he would bring up Bill Clinton’s much-flogged past marital infidelities in the second presidential debate to be held in St. louis, Missouri on Sunday night.
Hillary Clinton, who is apparently preparing to deliver the knockout punch in the second debate, seized on the revelations that were played on all television networks endlessly, declaring, “This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president.”
The Republican establishment was outraged by the revelation. In a stern message, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said, “No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan, saying he was “sickened by what I heard today”, put it to Trump that “women are to be championed and revered, not objectified”, and asked him to demonstrate to the country that he has greater respect for women than what the video clip suggested. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell asked Trump to “apologise directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape”.
Trump came out with his second, more direct apology after this series of missives from the Republican bigwigs. “I’ve said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me, know these words don’t reflect who I am,” he said in a 90-second video posted on Facebook. Claiming he is now a changed person, Trump added, “I pledge to be a better man tomorrow, and will never, ever let you down.”
It was in sharp contrast to his earlier perfunctory apology in which he said, “This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago. Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course - not even close. I apologise if anyone was offended.”
At least, two Republican Senators --- Mark Kirk from Illinois and Mark lee from Utah --- demanded that Trump quit the race. Republican lawmaker Mike Coffman advised him to “step aside” since his “defeat at this point seems almost certain”. Congressman Jason Chaffetz said he “can no longer, in good conscience, endorse this person for President”. And Utah’s Republican Governor Gary Herbert tweeted: “Tonight, millions of Republicans are facing a moment of truth.”
Several other prominent Republicans, including Senators John McCain and Ted Cruz, too condemned the comments but stopped short of withdrawing their support for their candidate at this point, with the presidential election exactly one month away.