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Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape

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On October 7, 2016, The Washington Post released a video and accompanying article about Donald Trump and Billy Bush having "an extremely lewd conversation about women" in 2005.[1] In the video, Trump indicated that that he might start kissing a woman that he and Bush were about to meet during the filming of an episode of Access Hollywood. Trump further asserted that "when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything...grab them by the pussy".[1]

News of the recording broke two days prior to the scheduled second 2016 presidential debate between Trump, the Republican nominee, and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Trump gave a statement in which he apologized for the video's content and also added an accusation that Hillary Clinton's husband Bill Clinton had abused women.

The recording touched off an immediate media and political uproar. Several Republicans including 2008 Republican nominee John McCain renounced their prior support of Trump, with a smaller number calling for him to withdraw, which Trump declined to do. Other Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Trump's running mate Mike Pence, indicated their disapproval with Trump's words but did not renounce their support or call for his resignation from the ticket.[2][3]

Recording

The video was recorded in September 2005 in the NBC Studios parking lot while Trump was preparing to appear in an episode of the series Access Hollywood.[1] It features audio of Trump talking with Billy Bush, then co-anchor of Access Hollywood, on a bus embellished with the show's name. Trump and Bush were wearing microphones, which recorded their casual conversation. In the section of the tape released, their conversation was mostly about women.[4] According to an Access Hollywood spokesperson, there were seven other people on the bus: a camera crew of two, the bus driver, the show's producer, a production assistant, Trump's security guard, and Trump's public relations representative. Upon arriving at the lot, the camera crew was let off the bus so they could record Trump and Bush disembarking and meeting with soap opera star Arianne Zucker.[5][6]

Publication

According to Access Hollywood, the discovery of the video was prompted by "Mr. Trump’s denial of claims contained in an Associated Press story in which 20 former Apprentice employees described Mr. Trump’s behavior toward women as lewd and inappropriate."[7] An NBC source said that an Access Hollywood producer remembered the conversation on Monday, October 3, 2016, and located it in the show's archives. NBC discussed whether to release the tape and had written a possible story but had not broadcast it as of Friday October 7.[8] On Friday at around 11 a.m. David Fahrenthold, a reporter for the Post, obtained a copy of the tape from an unidentified source. Fahrenthold contacted NBC for comment, notified the Trump campaign that he had the video, obtained confirmation of its authenticity, and released a story and the tape itself by 4 p.m.[1][9] NBC News released its own story shortly afterward.[5] By the evening of October 7, the Post's story had become "the most concurrently viewed article in the history of The Post’s website".[10]

Contents

External videos
video icon Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005,
The Washington Post,
12:44, October 8, 2016

In the video, Trump tells Billy Bush about a failed attempt to seduce Nancy O'Dell:[11]

I moved on her, and I failed. I'll admit it. I did try and fuck her. She was married. And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, 'I'll show you where they have some nice furniture.' I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn't get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she's now got the big phony tits and everything. She's totally changed her look.

— Donald Trump[1]

Later, referring to the woman they were waiting to meet (Arianne Zucker), Trump says:

I've got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it, you can do anything. ... Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.

— Donald Trump[1]

Reactions

Donald Trump and wife Melania

Trump's general election opponent Hillary Clinton was among the first political figures to respond to the tape, tweeting shortly after its release, "This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president."[12] Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine said of the tape, "It makes me sick to my stomach [...] I'm sad to say that I'm not surprised."[13] Clinton's campaign later indicated that she will respond further to the tape during the October 9 debate.[14]

The incident was condemned by numerous prominent Republicans. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever."; the RNC suspended all support of Trump's campaign shortly afterwards.[15] Mitt Romney tweeted "Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt America's face to the world." John Kasich called the remarks "indefensible." Jeb Bush called them "reprehensible."[16] Speaker of the House Paul Ryan disinvited Trump to participate in a campaign event for Ryan in Wisconsin, saying that he was "sickened" by Trump's comments.[17][18]

Many members of the Republican Party rescinded their endorsements as a result of the release of the video.[19][20] These include Governors Bill Haslam[21] and Robert J. Bentley;[22] Representatives Bradley Byrne,[20] Jason Chaffetz,[23] and Joe Heck;[24] and Senators Kelly Ayotte,[25] Mike Crapo,[26] and John McCain.[27] Running mate Mike Pence released a statement saying “As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the eleven-year-old video released yesterday...I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them.” However, he said he still supported Trump since he “has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people.”[28][29] Trump's wife Melania said, "The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me. This does not represent the man that I know," but added that she hopes "people will accept his apology, as I have."[30]

Meanwhile, several Republicans expressed continued support for Donald Trump.[28] These include Ben Carson,[31] Tony Perkins,[32] Ralph E. Reed Jr.,[32] and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.[32]

By October 8 several dozen Republicans had called for Trump to withdraw from the campaign and let Pence head the ticket.[33] Trump insisted he would never drop out.[34] In any case, as of October 8, depending upon the state:

  • It was not possible to change the names on ballots at the late date for purely legal reasons;
  • Many general election ballots had already been printed, making changes to them a costly proposition;
  • In states with early voting, thousands of ballots have already been cast.[35]

For these reasons, calls for Trump to drop out of the presidential race have been largely regarded as symbolic. As a practical matter, Trump is locked in as the Republican nominee regardless of what happens between the outbreak of the scandal and election day.[35][36]

In light of the controversy, the media has noted that Trump had a history of criticizing women for their looks, among other remarks criticized as sexist.[37][38] On October 8, CNN aired segments from multiple interviews Trump gave to The Howard Stern Show prior to his political career in which he made comments similar to those on the Access Hollywood tape.[39] In one of the segments, Trump comments on his daughter Ivanka's body and does not object to Stern calling her "a piece of ass".[39]

On Saturday Night Live Season 42 Episode 2, Alec Baldwin parodied the controversy as Donald Trump.[40][41][42] Samantha Bee, the host of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, reversed the gender roles in the video and issued an "apology" for the parodied video on Twitter.[43] Singer-songwriter Carly Simon donated her 1972 song You're So Vain for use in an anti-Trump advertisement - the first time she has ever allowed its use for political purposes - and announced her opposition to Trump in response to the tape.[44]

Pussy Grabs Back

On October 7, the Facebook page "Feminist Fight Club" released an image of a hissing kitten with the text "Nov 8. Pussy Grabs Back."[45] The kitten image was adapted from a design by interdisciplinary artist Stella Marrs.[46] The image quickly went viral as people latched onto the controversy to encourage voter turnout and express frustration with perceived misogyny in politics. On October 9th, Feminist Fight Club in collaboration with Female Collective and others released a T-shirt for sale with adaptation of the image, and proceeds benefiting Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.[47] On that same date, alternative musician Kim Boekbinder released a short song and music video based on the meme.[48]

Regarding Billy Bush

Billy Bush has received a social media backlash and calls for his removal from The Today Show following the tape's release.

While the controversy has focused mainly on Trump, Bush also faced backlash as a result of the tape[49], mainly focusing on his saying Zucker "[Is] hot as shit!" and his goading her into hugging Trump after they get off the bus. Bush received online criticism and calls for his resignation from The Today Show, where he currently serves as an anchor. The Washington Post stated, "Bush’s public image was damaged—perhaps beyond repair."[49] There were so many negative comments on Bush's social media accounts following the tape's release that his Twitter account was taken down on the evening of October 7.[49]

On the evening of October 7, Bush issued an apology, saying “Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed. It’s no excuse, but this happened eleven years ago—I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry.”[49]

The controversy has led to speculation that Bush's spot on Today could be in jeopardy, both because of the backlash against him on social media and the possibility that the tape's release could create a toxic work environment between Bush and the show's mostly female production staff.[50] NBC executives confirmed on the evening of October 8 that Bush's job was safe and he would address the controversy on the October 10 episode of Today.[50] Politico noted that the audience of Today is disproportionately female so that a significant ratings drop in the wake of the controversy could still lead to Bush's dismissal.[50]

Bush being a member of the Bush family was also noted in the wake of the controversy. The Economist noted, "Who would have thought that Mr Bush, a presenter of NBC’s Today news show, could end up playing a more influential role in this election than his cousin Jeb, whom many Republicans once expected to win it?"[51]

Trump response

External videos
video icon Donald Trump apologizes for sexist comments about groping women,
Trump campaign video
via PBS Newshour,
1:15, October 7, 2016[52]

After the release of the Access Hollywood video, Trump's first public response came in the form of a written statement published on his campaign website:

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 apologize if anyone was offended.[53]

Early on Saturday morning, October 8, Donald Trump issued a lengthier statement, released by video. In it, Trump said of the video's contents, "I said it, I was wrong, and I'm sorry." He went on to "pledge to be a better man" and ended the video with the allegation that former President Bill Clinton, husband of Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, had "abused women" and that Hillary Clinton had bullied her husband's victims.[54] Trump's video ended with assurances that the Clinton allegations would be discussed in coming days.[55] This apology was criticized severely by the media and members of the public as being insincere and attempting to divert the problem at hand with unsubstantiated accusations against his political opponents.[56][57][58] Trump tweeted the next day: "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!"[59]

As October 8 continued, a growing number of Republicans went further than chastising Trump's remarks or rescinding endorsements of him, instead calling for Trump to give up the Republican nomination for president outright or to otherwise "step down". Trump released a tweet on the afternoon of October 8 in general response:

The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! #MAGA[60]

Afterwards Trump followed up on his assurance that the Clinton allegations would be discussed by retweeting two tweets of Juanita Broaddrick, in which she calls Bill Clinton a "rapist" and calls Clinton's actions "horrific".[61][62]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Fahrenthold, David A. (October 7, 2016). "Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005". Washington Post. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  2. ^ Buchanan, Larry; Parlapiano, Alicia; Yourish, Karen (October 8, 2016). "Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell Reject Donald Trump's Words, Over and Over, but Not His Candidacy". New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  3. ^ "Pence says he can't defend Trump's comments". The Indianapolis Star. October 8, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Tacopino, Joe (October 8, 2016). "How 'Access Hollywood' unearthed Donald Trump's vulgar video". New York Post. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Access Hollywood, Washington Post explain how they found the Donald Trump video". politico.com. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  6. ^ Graham, David A. "Trump Apologizes for Groping Video and Attacks the Clintons". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  7. ^ "Donald Trump: The Comments On Women You Hadn't Heard". Access Hollywood. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  8. ^ Fernandez, Alexia (October 8, 2016). "This Is How the Hot Mic Tape of Donald Trump Was Leaked". People. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  9. ^ Farhi, Paul (October 7, 2016). "A caller had a lewd tape of Donald Trump. Then the race to break the story was on". Washington Post. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  10. ^ Gold, Hadas (October 7, 2016). "Access Hollywood, Washington Post explain how they found the Donald Trump video". POLITICO. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  11. ^ Deerwester, Jayme (October 8, 2016). "Nancy O'Dell breaks her silence on vulgar Donald Trump recording". USA Today. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  12. ^ "'This is horrific': Hillary Clinton campaign responds to Trump's lewd 2005 comments about women". Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  13. ^ "Kaine: Trump tape 'makes me sick to my stomach'". Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  14. ^ "Hillary Clinton's plans for her first reaction to Trump tape". Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  15. ^ RNC Halts All Victory Project Work for Trump
  16. ^ Harrington, Rebecca. "RNC Chair Reince Priebus condemns Trump for obscene comments about women in 2005 video". Business Insider. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  17. ^ DeBonis, Mike (October 7, 2016). "Ryan to Trump: Don't campaign with me". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  18. ^ Lee, Kurtis (October 7, 2016). "Speaker Paul Ryan disinvites Trump to his campaign event, says he's 'sickened' by tape". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
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  20. ^ a b Yuhas, Alan (October 8, 2016). "The growing list of Republicans who have abandoned Donald Trump". The Guardian.
  21. ^ Dave Boucher (October 9, 2016). "Bill Haslam: Donald Trump needs to step aside for Mike Pence". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  22. ^ Bryan Lyman (October 8, 2016). "AL Republicans - including Bentley - withdraw Trump support". Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  23. ^ "'I'm out': Rep. Chaffetz withdraws his endorsement of Trump". POLITICO. October 7, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
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  27. ^ Rappeport, Alan (October 8, 2016). "John McCain Withdraws Support for Donald Trump After Disclosure of Recording". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  28. ^ a b Scott, Eugene (October 8, 2016). "Where Republicans stand on Trump". CNN. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  29. ^ Flores, Reena (October 8, 2016). "Mike Pence: "I cannot defend" Trump's words". Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  30. ^ Collins, Eliza (October 8, 2016). "Melania blasts 'offensive' Trump, says she accepts apology". USA Today. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  31. ^ Engel, Pamela (October 8, 2016). "Top Ben Carson adviser: He stands by Trump, recording 'is the kind of language that we hear in rap music'". Business Insider. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  32. ^ a b c Reilly, Mollie (October 7, 2016). "Top Evangelicals Stand By Trump Despite His Vulgar Comments About Sleeping With Married Woman". The Huffington Post.
  33. ^ Blake, Aaron (October 8, 2016). "Here's the fast-growing list of Republicans calling for Donald Trump to drop out". Washington Post. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  34. ^ Costa, Robert (October 8, 2016). "Amid growing calls to drop out, Trump vows to 'never withdraw'". Washington Post. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  35. ^ a b "There's no longer any way for Republicans to boot Donald Trump from the ballot". Washington Post. October 7, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  36. ^ CNN, Tom LoBianco. "Why Republicans can't easily dump Trump off the ballot". CNN. Retrieved October 8, 2016. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  37. ^ "Donald Trump sexism tracker: Every offensive comment in one place". The Telegraph. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  38. ^ Rupert, Evelyn (October 7, 2016). "Ryan: Trump no longer attending joint event". TheHill. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  39. ^ a b "More Trump tapes surface with crude sex remarks". Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  40. ^ Fuster, Jeremy (October 8, 2016). "Alec Baldwin Returns To 'SNL' To Mock The Trump Tapes". TheWrap. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  41. ^ Pallotta, Frank (October 9, 2016). "'SNL' and Alec Baldwin take on Trump's hot mic comments". CNN. Retrieved October 9, 2016. The long-time variety show kicked off with a debate sketch between Mike Pence and Tim Kaine. In the skit, Beck Bennett's Pence argues that Trump has never said anything bad about women before getting cut off by a CNN breaking news alert. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  42. ^ Carpentier, Megan (October 9, 2016). "No groping for laughs as Alec Baldwin nails Trump on Saturday Night Live". The Guardian. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  43. ^ Bakkila, Blake (October 8, 2016). "Samantha Bee Parodies Donald Trump's Bus Conversation with Billy Bush". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  44. ^ Carly Simon Uses You're So Vain In Anti-Trump Video
  45. ^ "Feminist Fight Club - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  46. ^ "Stella Marrs - catalog". www.stellamarrs.com. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  47. ^ "Feminist Fight Club - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  48. ^ "PUSSY GRABS BACK by Kim Boekbinder". Youtube.com. October 9, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  49. ^ a b c d Emily Yahr, Elahe Izadi (October 7, 2016). "Billy Bush was already polarizing. His lewd Donald Trump conversation makes things much worse". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  50. ^ a b c Billy Bush, Declared Safe in Today Show Gig, Has a Lot of Work to Do on Monday
  51. ^ J.A. (October 8, 2016). "Lecher-in-chief: Donald Trump boasts of groping women". The Economist. London. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  52. ^ "Donald Trump apologizes for sexist comments about groping women". Trump campaign video. PBS Newshour. October 7, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  53. ^ Trump, Donald (October 7, 2016). "STATEMENT FROM DONALD J. TRUMP". www.donaldjtrump.com. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  54. ^ ""I never said I'm a perfect person," Trump says about lewd comments". Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  55. ^ Haberman, Maggie (October 8, 2016). "Donald Trump's Apology That Wasn't". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  56. ^ Haberman, Maggie. "Donald Trump's Apology That Wasn't". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  57. ^ Lavender, Paige. "Donald Trump 'Apologizes' In Recording That Looks Like A Hostage Tape". The Huffington Post. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
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  59. ^ Pamela Engel (October 8, 2016). "TRUMP: 'Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!'". Business Insider. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  60. ^ "Donald J. Trump on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  61. ^ Nelson, Louis (October 8, 2016). "Trump puts Clinton on watch by retweeting Juanita Broaddrick". POLITICO. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  62. ^ Blake, Aaron (October 8, 2016). "Donald Trump just retweeted Juanita Broaddrick calling Bill Clinton a rapist. All bets are now off". Washington Post. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
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