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On October 7, 2016, one month before the United States presidential election that year, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' published a video and article about then-presidential candidate
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
and television host
Billy Bush William Hall Bush (born October 17, 1971) is an American radio and television host. He is a member of the Bush family, a nephew of former president George H. W. Bush and cousin of former president George W. Bush and former Florida governor Jeb B ...
having a lewd conversation about women in September 2005. Trump and Bush were on a bus on their way to film an episode of ''
Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', briefly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...
'', a show owned by
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...
. In the video, Trump described his attempt to seduce a married woman and indicated he might start kissing a woman that he and Bush were about to meet. He added, "I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. ... Grab 'em by the
pussy ''Pussy'' () is an English noun, adjective, and—in rare instances—verb. It has several meanings, as slang, as euphemism, and as vulgarity. Most commonly, it is used as a noun with the meaning "cat", or "coward" or " weakling". In slang, ...
. You can do anything." Many commentators and lawyers described such an action as
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
. Others argued that the remarks were an assertion that sexual consent is easier to obtain for the famous and wealthy. News of the recording broke two days before the second 2016 presidential debate between Trump, the Republican nominee, and Democratic nominee
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
. Trump gave a statement in which he apologized for the video's content, but he attempted to deflect attention by saying that Hillary's husband
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
had "said far worse to me on the golf course". The recording provoked strong reactions by media figures and politicians across the political spectrum. Statements from Republican officials varied. Some, including Trump's vice-presidential running mate
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
, Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...
, and
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
Chairman
Reince Priebus Reinhold Richard "Reince" Priebus ( ; born March 18, 1972) is an American politician, attorney, and naval officer who served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2011 to 2017 and as White House chief of staff during the first s ...
, indicated their disapproval of Trump's words but did not renounce their support or call for his resignation from the ticket. Other Republicans, most prominently former presidential nominee
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
, stated that they would no longer support Trump's presidential campaign, and some called for his withdrawal from the ticket. House Speaker
Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...
announced that he would no longer defend or support Trump's campaign, although he did not officially retract his endorsement of Trump. Bush was fired from his position as a host on the ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...
'' show, another show owned by NBCUniversal and aired on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
television network, and several women made allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump. The release of the tape was regarded as an "
October surprise In the politics of the United States, an October surprise is a news event that may influence the outcome of an upcoming November election (particularly one for the presidency), whether deliberately planned or spontaneously occurring. Because th ...
", influencing public opinion in the weeks before the election. According to a 2020 study, it reduced public support for Trump. On Saturday October 8th, Trump released an apology video, calling the remarks "''locker room banter''" and apologized, stating that "I've said and done things I regret". Despite the controversy, Trump ultimately won the 2016 election. Trump was shown the tape during an October 2022 deposition for a civil lawsuit brought by author E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of raping her in 1995 or 1996. In response to questions from Carroll's attorney about whether the statements in the tape were true, Trump replied, "historically, that's true with stars" and "if you look over the last million years, I guess that's been largely true. Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately, or fortunately." The tape was used as evidence during the trial. On May 9, 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation against Carroll and ordered him to pay her $5 million. On July 19, 2023, Judge Kaplan denied Donald Trump's request for a new trial.


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 NBC
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
''. ''
Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', briefly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...
'', a syndicated entertainment news program owned by
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...
, conducted a behind-the-scenes interview with Trump about the guest appearance in which Trump and Bush arrived in a
tour bus A tour bus service is an escorted tour (sometimes a package holiday) or bus service that takes visitors sightseeing, with routes around tourist attractions. Information Double-decker buses and open top buses are commonly used, for provid ...
for the ''Access Across America'' series of segments produced in commemoration of the program's 10th season. It features audio of Trump talking with
Billy Bush William Hall Bush (born October 17, 1971) is an American radio and television host. He is a member of the Bush family, a nephew of former president George H. W. Bush and cousin of former president George W. Bush and former Florida governor Jeb B ...
, 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. Trump was later described as "apparently aware at the time that he was being recorded by a TV program". 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 A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...
, 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 Arianne Zucker, who portrayed Nicole Walker on the soap opera and appeared alongside Trump in the episode in which he guest starred.


Contents

In the video, Trump tells Bush about a failed attempt to seduce
Nancy O'Dell Nancy O'Dell (born Nancy Evelyn Humphries; February 25, 1966) is an American television host and entertainment journalist. She served as co-anchor of the syndicated entertainment news show ''Entertainment Tonight'' from January 3, 2011, to Augus ...
, who was Bush's co-host at the time (circa 2005) of the recording: Later, referring to Arianne Zucker (whom they were waiting to meet), Trump says:


Publication

According to ''Access Hollywood'', the discovery of the video was prompted by "Mr. Trump's denial of claims contained in an
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
story in which 20 former ''
Apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...
'' employees described Mr. Trump's behavior toward women as lewd and inappropriate." An NBC source said that an ''Access Hollywood'' producer remembered the conversation on October 3, 2016, and located it in the show's archives. The celebrity news website ''
TMZ ''TMZ'' is an American entertainment-focused tabloid news organization owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested ...
'' reports a different chronology: when senior executives at NBC learned about the video, they thought it was too early in the presidential campaign season to release it with maximum effect, and (according to ''TMZ'') those executives publicly said they learned of the video long after they actually learned about it. NBC discussed whether to release the tape and had lawyers review the legality of the publication, as is common among other news media due to the possibility that the involved parties might file a lawsuit if the video was released. By October 4, NBC had drafted a story that it declined to broadcast for another three days. On October 7, at around 11 a.m., an unidentified source gave a copy of the tape to ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' reporter David Fahrenthold, who 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. Alerted that the ''Post'' might release the story immediately, NBC News released its own story "mere minutes" after the ''Post'' story was published. By that evening, the ''Post'' story had become "the most concurrently viewed article in the history of the ''Post'' website" with more than 100,000 people reading it on the afternoon of October 7. The ''Post'' servers went offline for a short period that day due to the surge in web traffic. This story would later be one of the articles for which Fahrenthold received the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
for National Reporting.


Reactions

Reaction was swift, with Trump's general election opponent
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
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." Clinton's VP running mate
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States ...
said of the tape, "It makes me sick to my stomach ... I'm sad to say that I'm not surprised." At the second presidential debate two days later, Clinton said of the tape, "With prior Republican nominees for president, I disagreed with them, politics, policies, principles, but I never questioned their fitness to serve. Donald Trump is different." In the second episode of season 42 of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' (first aired on October 8),
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
parodied the controversy as Trump.
Samantha Bee Samantha Anne Bee (born October 25, 1969) is a Canadian-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actress, and television host. Bee rose to fame as a correspondent on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'', where she became the ...
, the host of ''
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee ''Full Frontal with Samantha Bee'' is an American late-night talk and news satire television program that aired on TBS from 2016 to 2022. The show was hosted by comedian Samantha Bee, a former correspondent on ''The Daily Show''. In July 2 ...
'', reversed the gender roles in the video and issued an "apology" for the parodied video on Twitter. Singer-songwriter
Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...
donated her 1972 song "
You're So Vain "You're So Vain" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released as a single in November 1972. The lyrics describe a self-absorbed lover, whose identity has long been a matter of speculation. Simon said the song refers to three ...
" for use in an anti-Trump
advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...
– the first time she has ever allowed its use for political purposes – and announced her opposition to Trump in response to the tape.


Media and legal profession attention

Touching a person's
genitals A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...
without consent (also known as
groping Groping is a form of sexual harassment involving the intentional inappropriate touching of another person commonly without their consent. The term generally has a negative connotation in many societies. Touching a consenting person's body d ...
) is considered
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
in most jurisdictions in the United States. Many attorneys and media commentators characterized Trump's statements as describing acts of sexual assault. Lisa Bloom, a sexual harassment expert and civil rights lawyer, stated: "Let's be very clear, he is talking about sexual assault. He is talking about grabbing a woman's genitals without her consent." Trump and some of his supporters claimed that Trump was not saying he had committed a sexual assault or had denied that groping is sexual assault. Journalist Emily Crockett says that this is further evidence of a trend to minimize sexual assaults against women. John Banzhaf, a
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
public interest law professor, stated, "if Trump suddenly and without any warning reached out and grabbed a woman's crotch or breast, it would rather clearly constitute sexual assault", as indicated in Trump's statement "I don't even wait." It has been argued, however, that despite Trump having stated "I don't even wait", his full remarks do imply consent. This is pointed out by Trump's full remarks having included the statement "and when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything." It brought further media comment on Trump's history of criticizing women for their looks, among other remarks criticized as
sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...
. On October 8,
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
aired segments from multiple interviews Trump gave to ''
The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...
'' prior to his political career in which he made comments similar to those on the ''Access Hollywood'' tape. In September 2004, Trump comments on his daughter Ivanka's body and, when asked, tells Stern that it is okay for him to call his daughter "a piece of ass".


Involved parties


Billy Bush

While the controversy focused mainly on Trump, Bush also faced backlash as a result of the tape, mainly due to his statement that Zucker " shot 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 ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...
'', where he was an anchor at the time. ''The Washington Post'' stated, "Bush's public image was damaged—perhaps beyond repair." There were so many negative comments on Bush's social media accounts following the tape's release that his
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
account was taken down on the evening of October 7. That evening, 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." The controversy 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.
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
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''. ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'' 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. On Monday, October 10, NBC reversed course and announced that Bush would be suspended from ''Today'' indefinitely pending further review; as he was an anchor, his suspension was briefly addressed during that day's broadcast. One day later, on October 11, multiple media sources reported that NBC was "negotiating his exit". On October 17, NBC announced that Bush had resigned. Bush's status as a member of the
Bush family The Bush family is an American political family that has played a prominent role in American politics since the 1950s, foremost as the first family of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2009, during the respective preside ...
(specifically, as the cousin of former president
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and the nephew of former president
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
) was also noted in the wake of the controversy. ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' 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 had expected to win it?"


People and entities mentioned by Trump

Nancy O'Dell, the married woman of whom Trump spoke, said:
Politics aside, I'm saddened that these comments still exist in our society at all. When I heard the comments yesterday, it was disappointing to hear such objectification of women. The conversation needs to change because no female, no person, should be the subject of such crass comments, whether or not cameras are rolling. Everyone deserves respect no matter the setting or gender. As a woman who has worked very hard to establish her career, and as a mom, I feel I must speak out with the hope that as a society we will always strive to be better.
In response to having their product referenced by Trump on the tape,
Tic Tac Tic Tac (stylized in lowercase) is a brand of small, hard mint manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero. They were first produced in 1969 and are now available in a variety of flavors in over 100 countries. Tic Tacs are typically sold in s ...
issued a statement on Twitter stating, "Tic Tac respects all women. We find the recent statements and behavior completely inappropriate and unacceptable." Reacting to her unwitting role in this incident, Zucker wrote on TwitLonger, "How we treat one another, whether behind closed doors, locker rooms or face to face, should be done with kindness, dignity and respect."


Melania Trump

The tape had been recorded shortly after Trump's marriage to his third wife, Melania, while she was pregnant with their son Barron. According to
Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...
, Trump dreaded his next encounter with his wife after the tape leaked. It took him two hours from hearing the tape before he went to see her. The campaign was most concerned about her response, as it more than any other had the potential to derail Trump's candidacy. When they spoke about the tape privately, she reportedly said "now you could lose, you could have blown this for us" and then left the room after hearing her husband's apology. Melania was frustrated by the pity directed toward her. She wished to make her own response independently from the campaign's planned response. When the campaign's strategy was proposed, she only replied "no". Melania decided to put out her own statement, and Donald only asked to read it before she spoke to the press. Her statement read: Melania's first media appearance after the tape leaked was an interview with
Anderson Cooper Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator who anchors the CNN news broadcast show ''Anderson Cooper 360°''. In addition to his duties at CNN, Cooper serves as a correspondent for ''6 ...
, who expressed sympathy for her throughout the interview. She stated that she would not relay what she and her husband said in private conversations, but that she was "very strong" and "very confident". In the interview, Melania argued that her husband supports women, and she blamed the controversy on a conspiracy by "left-wing media". She asked people not to feel sorry for her, directing criticism toward celebrities who spoke out on her behalf, which she found hypocritical. During the next presidential debate, Melania attended wearing a pussy bow, causing speculation that it was a reference to the tape.


Republican Party

The incident was condemned by numerous prominent Republicans.
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
(RNC) Chairman
Reince Priebus Reinhold Richard "Reince" Priebus ( ; born March 18, 1972) is an American politician, attorney, and naval officer who served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2011 to 2017 and as White House chief of staff during the first s ...
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 thereafter. Former Massachusetts governor
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
, the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, tweeted, "Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt America's face to the world." Ohio governor
John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...
, a former primary rival to Trump, called the remarks "indefensible"; former Florida governor
Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...
, also a former primary rival, called them "reprehensible".
Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the ...
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...
also denounced the video, but continued to support Trump.
Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...
, the
House Speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...
, disinvited Trump from a scheduled campaign rally, announced that he would no longer defend or support Trump's presidential campaign, and in a highly unusual move freed down-ticket congressional members to use their own judgment, saying "you all need to do what's best for you and your district"; he did not, however, withdraw his endorsement of Trump. Many members of the Republican Party rescinded their endorsements as a result of the release of the video, including Governors
Bill Haslam William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...
and
Robert J. Bentley Robert Julian Bentley (born February 3, 1943) is an American former politician and physician who served as the 53rd governor of Alabama from 2011 until 2017 upon his resignation following his arrest after a sex scandal involving a political aide ...
; Representatives
Bradley Byrne Bradley Roberts Byrne (born February 16, 1955) is an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 1st congressional district from 2014 to 2021. Elected as a member of the state Board of Education as a Dem ...
,
Jason Chaffetz Jason E. Chaffetz (; born March 26, 1967) is an American retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until his resignation in 2017. He chaired the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2015 until 2017. Ch ...
, and
Joe Heck Joseph John Heck (born October 30, 1961) is an American politician, physician, and retired United States Army Major general who served as the United States representative for Nevada's 3rd congressional district from 2011 to 2017. Heck is a boa ...
; and Senators
Kelly Ayotte Kelly Ann Ayotte ( ; born June 27, 1968) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2025 as the 83rd governor of New Hampshire. A member of the Republican Party, she served from 2011 to 2017 as a United States senator from New Hampsh ...
,
Mike Crapo Michael Dean Crapo ( ; born May 20, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Idaho, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Rep ...
, and
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
. Former
California governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, th ...
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
, who had previously kept his opinion private throughout the campaign, released a statement: "For the first time since I became a citizen in 1983, I will not vote for the Republican candidate for president ... As proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else—American." By October 11, "nearly a third" of Senate Republicans said they would not vote for Trump. Other Republicans expressed continued support for Trump, including former 2016 Republican candidate
Ben Carson Ben Solomon Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American retired neurosurgery, neurosurgeon, academic, author, and government official who served as the 17th United States secretary of housing and urban development from 2017 to 2021. A pio ...
,
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
leaders Tony Perkins and Ralph E. Reed Jr., and former Trump
campaign manager A campaign manager, campaign chairperson, or campaign director is an individual whose role is to coordinate a political campaign's spending, broad tactics, and hiring. They lead operations such as Campaign finance, fundraising, advertising, Opi ...
Corey Lewandowski Corey R. Lewandowski (; born September 18, 1973) is an American political operative, lobbyist, political commentator and author who is politically associated with Donald Trump. He was the first campaign manager of Trump's 2016 presidential ca ...
. Other evangelical leaders, particularly the
Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
Ethics and Policy Director, Dr.
Russell D. Moore Russell D. Moore (born 9 October 1971) is an American Theology, theologian, Christian ethics, ethicist, and preacher. In June 2021, he became the director of the Public Theology Project at ''Christianity Today'', and on August 4, 2022, was announ ...
, publicly rebuked evangelical leaders who still supported Trump. In a tweet,
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
questioned why NBC, who had possession of the tape, sat on it for 11 years.


Calls to drop campaign

By October 8, several dozen Republicans had called for Trump to withdraw from the campaign and let his VP running mate,
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
, take over the Republican ticket.Matt Canham & Thomas Burr
Utah Gov. Herbert and Rep. Chaffetz pull Trump endorsements, Huntsman says Trump should drop out after explicit video leaks
''Salt Lake Tribune'' (October 8, 2016).
Ali Vitali & Benjy Sarlin
Donald Trump Defiant as Top Republicans Flee Candidacy
NBC News (October 8, 2016).
Among those favoring a Pence takeover were former Utah governor
Jon Huntsman Jr. Jon Meade Huntsman Jr. (born March 26, 1960) is an American politician, businessman, and diplomat who served as the 16th governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the ambassador of the United States ...
, U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan of Alaska,
Cory Gardner Cory Scott Gardner (born August 22, 1974) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Colorado from 2015 to 2021. A Republican, he was the U.S. representative for Colorado's 4th congressional district from ...
of Colorado and
Deb Fischer Debra Lynelle Fischer (; born March 1, 1951) is an American politician and former educator serving as the senior United States senator from Nebraska, a seat she has held since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Fischer is the third woman t ...
of
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
, and U.S. Representatives
Jason Chaffetz Jason E. Chaffetz (; born March 26, 1967) is an American retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until his resignation in 2017. He chaired the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2015 until 2017. Ch ...
of Utah,
Bradley Byrne Bradley Roberts Byrne (born February 16, 1955) is an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 1st congressional district from 2014 to 2021. Elected as a member of the state Board of Education as a Dem ...
of
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, Rodney Davis of Illinois, and
Ann Wagner Ann Louise Wagner (; born September 13, 1962) is an American politician and former diplomat serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Missouri's 2nd congressional district since 2013. A member of the Republica ...
of
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
. Pence himself released a statement on October 8, 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." Trump insisted he would never drop out. 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, and it would be expensive to change them. * In states with early voting, thousands of ballots had already been cast. For these reasons, commentators said that it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to replace Trump as the Republican nominee.


Withdrawal of political support

As the day wore on, a growing number of Republicans went beyond criticizing Trump's remarks or rescinding endorsements of him and began calling for Trump to drop out of the presidential race, ceding the Republican nomination to another person. On the afternoon of October 8, Trump responded with a tweet: "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 "Make America Great Again" (MAGA, ) is an American political slogan most recently popularized by Donald Trump during Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign, his successful presidential campaigns in 2016 and Donald Trump 2024 presidential cam ...
". The Republican National Committee continued to support Trump, and within the next couple of days, several of the Republicans who wanted Trump to drop out said that they were still voting for him.
Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...
said in an interview on ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
'' that response to the controversy served as a " litmus test" for Trump's Republican allies. For example, according to Bannon, Chris Christie was denied a Cabinet position because he said Trump's comments were "completely indefensible".


Trump's responses

Trump acknowledged making the remarks, but tried to deflect by saying that Bill and Hillary Clinton had said and done worse. 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: 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 apologize." He went on to "pledge to be a better man" and ended the video with the allegation that Bill Clinton had "abused women", and that Hillary Clinton had bullied her husband's victims. Trump's video ended with assurances that the Clinton allegations would be discussed in coming days. Trump's statement was criticized severely by the media and members of the public as insincere, and an attempt to divert attention away from Trump's comments and onto whataboutist accusations against his political opponents. Trump tweeted the next day: "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!" On October 10, Trump was also questioned about the tape during the second presidential debate of his campaign. He reiterated that it was "locker room talk", then said, "I'm not proud of it. I apologize to my family. I apologize to the American people." In 2017, it was reported that Trump had questioned the authenticity of the tape in multiple private conversations that year, including one with a Republican senator, even though he had already acknowledged that the voice was his, and apologized, after the tape was revealed. In January 2017, shortly before his inauguration, Trump told a Republican senator that he wanted to investigate the recording.


Effects and aftermath


Clinton–Trump debates

The release of the tape led to a renewed anticipation towards the October 9 debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton, as it would be the first time for each candidate to directly address the controversy. Less than two hours before the debate began, Trump held a surprise press conference in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
with
Paula Jones Paula Corbin Jones (born Paula Rosalee Corbin; September 17, 1966) is an American civil servant. A former Arkansas state employee, Jones sued United States President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment in 1994. In the initial lawsuit, Jones accus ...
,
Kathleen Willey Kathleen Willey (born June 2, 1946) is a former White House volunteer aide who, on March 15, 1998, alleged on the TV news program ''60 Minutes'' that Bill Clinton had sexually assaulted her on November 29, 1993, during his first term as Presiden ...
, and
Juanita Broaddrick Juanita Broaddrick is an American former nursing home administrator. She alleged that she was raped by U.S. President Bill Clinton on April 25, 1978, when he (aged 32) was the Attorney General of Arkansas. Clinton's attorney, David E. Kendall, ...
, who have previously accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct, and Kathy Shelton, a rape victim whose rapist had been represented in the 1970s by Hillary, an appointed
public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...
. Describing the conference as his "debate prep", Trump described the women as "courageous" and "victims of the Clintons", with each of the women repeating their grievances with the Clintons. At the conference, Trump refused to answer journalists' questions about the ''Access Hollywood'' tape. Clinton's campaign dismissed the conference as "an act of desperation" and denounced Trump's "destructive race to the bottom". First Lady
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
said referring to the controversy, "It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn't have predicted." The ''New York Times'' reported that just before the press conference, advisers to the Trump campaign told
Reince Priebus Reinhold Richard "Reince" Priebus ( ; born March 18, 1972) is an American politician, attorney, and naval officer who served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2011 to 2017 and as White House chief of staff during the first s ...
that Trump had to leave to attend a "meet and greet" because they feared that "Priebus would object if he knew the truth". Campaign chairman Steve Bannon told Trump, " roaddrick, Jones, Shelton, and Willey aregoing to rub up on you and be crying... d you're going to be empathetic." In response, Bannon recalled, Trump closed his eyes, moved his head back "like a Roman emperor", and said "I love it". Juanita Broaddrick told the ''Times'' she had "no idea what we were going in there for... t that doesn't matter. I would do it all again." During the debate itself, co-moderator
Anderson Cooper Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator who anchors the CNN news broadcast show ''Anderson Cooper 360°''. In addition to his duties at CNN, Cooper serves as a correspondent for ''6 ...
pressed Trump about whether the conversation on the tape meant that Trump had committed sexual assault. Trump said it "was locker room talk" and "I'm not proud of it", and said he wanted to move on to other things, but finally responded "I have not."Fact Check: Clinton and Trump debate for the second time
NPR (October 9, 2016).
It was later revealed that Trump had arranged for the women from his press conference to sit in his family box and that they were to walk into the audience at the same time as Bill Clinton and confront him on live TV, but debate officials intervened and prevented the planned stunt from happening. The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
later reported that Willey and Shelton had previously been financially compensated by Trump ally
Roger Stone Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American Political consulting, political consultant and lobbyist. He is Donald Trump's longest-serving political adviser, best known for the Mueller special counsel investi ...
during the campaign.


Assault stories

Shortly after the story first broke on October 7, Canadian writer
Kelly Oxford Kelly Oxford is a Canadian author, director, and screenwriter. Career In 1996, Oxford dropped out of Mount Royal University after one semester. She started blogging as a means of daily productivity and self-publishing. She later worked as a wa ...
posted on Twitter, "Women: tweet me your first assaults. they aren't just stats."See: * * Within hours, the tweet had gone viral, receiving thousands of responses, many of them relating to stories of sexual assaults on women. Over 30 million people viewed or replied to Oxford's tweet within a week.


Response of athletes and coaches

Numerous professional athletes and coaches rejected Trump's claim that what he said on the tape was "locker room talk", saying that such comments were not normal or acceptable.
Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...
head coach
Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An NBA player for 14 seasons, he was an NB ...
said, " f Trump's comments are locker room talkthat's a new locker room for me."
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
Sean Doolittle Sean Robert Doolittle (born September 26, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, and Seattle Mariners. He won the 201 ...
tweeted, "As an athlete, I've been in locker rooms my entire adult life and uh, that's not locker room talk."
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
Chris Conley Chris Conley may refer to: * Chris Conley (musician) (born 1980), American singer and guitarist with the rock band Saves the Day * Chris Conley (American football) (born 1992), American football wide receiver See also * Chris Connelly (disambig ...
tweeted, "Just for reference. I work in a locker room (every day) ... that is not locker room talk. Just so you know".
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
pitcher
Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead singer and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted the Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004� ...
tweeted, "What kind of fucked up locker rooms has Donald Trump been in".
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
Kendall Marshall Kendall Dewan Marshall (born August 19, 1991) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He was born in Dumfries, Virginia, and attended Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia. He played college basketball for ...
tweeted, "PSA: sexual advances without consent is NOT locker room talk."
LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...
midfielder
Robbie Rogers Robert Hampton Rogers III (born May 12, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player. He played as a winger and as a left back. Rogers has also represented the United States men's national soccer team. In February 2013, Rogers came ou ...
tweeted, "I'm offended as an athlete that @realDonaldTrump keeps using this "locker room talk" as an excuse." Olympic hurdler and sprinter Queen Harrison tweeted, "Locker room talk,' 'Boys will be boys,' 'Harmless banter.' These are not valid excuses for behavior. Never have been, never will be."
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
Jacob Tamme Jacob Francis Tamme ( ; born March 15, 1985) is an American former professional American football, football tight end. He played college football at Kentucky Wildcats football, Kentucky and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth ro ...
tweeted, "It's not normal. And even if it were normal, it's not right." These responses also prompted the creation of the hashtag #NotInMyLockerRoom. Eleven months after the footage was leaked, retired professional boxer
Floyd Mayweather Floyd may refer to: As a name * Floyd (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Floyd (surname), a list of people and fictional characters Places in the United States * Floyd, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Floyd, I ...
defended Trump's comments stating, "People don't like the truth... He speak like a real man spoke.... So he talking locker room talk. Locker room talk. 'I'm the man, you know what I'm saying? You know who I am. Yeah, I grabbed her by the pussy. And?'"


Anti-Trump memes and campaigns

The backlash from the comments prompted a "Pussy Grabs Back"
hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...
urging women to vote against Trump on
Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...
. Anti-Trump memes featuring cat imagery spread on social media. ''The Guardian'' wrote that an image of a snarling cat became a "rallying cry for female rage against Trump". Trump's denial that he ever kissed or groped women without consent led to more accusations by several women that Trump sexually assaulted them. Trump's campaign denied the allegations. In response to the recording, Shannon Coulter started a viral campaign called #GrabYourWallet, which urges individuals to
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
various companies that sell Trump-related products. Various companies have since dropped Trump's products in response to the boycott, including Shoes.com,
Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a seco ...
,
Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is an American luxury department store based in New York City, founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf. , it operates a women's store and a men's store across the street from each other on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. ...
, and
Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus is an American department store chain founded in 1907 in Dallas, Texas by Herbert Marcus, his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman, and her husband Abraham Lincoln Neiman. It has been owned by Saks Global, a Corporate spin-off, spin-o ...
.


Alleged other tapes

On October 9, former staffers of Trump's reality show ''
The Apprentice An apprentice is someone who is in training for a trade, profession. The Apprentice or Apprentice may also refer to: Television * ''The Apprentice'' (American TV series), the original reality television series * ''The Apprentice'' (franchise), ...
'' and journalist
Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Rivera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, and political commentator who worked at the Fox News Channel from 2001 to 2023. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He g ...
said that they both individually have more damaging tapes of Trump, but did not say if they would be released to the public. Rivera later stated that he had searched his files and that he could not find anything relevant to the scandal. Since the tape's release, Bill Pruitt, a producer of the first two seasons of the television series ''The Apprentice'', claims there is behind-the-scenes footage of Trump saying things that are "far worse". NBCUniversal's news division does not have access to the archives of the series. Another ''Apprentice'' producer,
Chris Nee Christine Nee (born ) is an American children's television screenwriter and TV producer, producer. Nee is best known as the creator of ''Doc McStuffins'', which she conceived as ''Cheers'' for preschoolers. She has previously worked as an associat ...
, claimed on Twitter that Trump said "the N-word" in the archived footage. Nee later deleted the tweet. A
GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...
campaign was launched on October 9 with the goal of raising $5.1 million to release more tapes. The campaign is known as the "Trump Sunlight Campaign". Nee wrote on Twitter to
Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American businessman and television personality. He is the former principal owner and current minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and co-owner of 2929 Entertain ...
that there is a $5 million penalty fee if the footage is leaked.
David Brock David Brock is an American liberal political consultant, author, and commentator who founded the media watchdog group Media Matters for America. He has been described by ''Time'' as "one of the most influential operatives in the Democratic Par ...
also offered to pay the penalty to release the alleged tapes from ''The Apprentice''. By election day, the "Sunlight campaign" had raised $40,000. No tape was found as a result of the campaign. In December 2017, the organizer Aaron Holman posted an update stating that he would donate $25,000 of the fundraised amount to
The Nation Institute Type Media Center (formerly The Nation Institute) is a nonprofit media organization that was previously associated with ''The Nation'' magazine. It sponsors fellows, hosts forums, publishes books and investigative reporting, and awards several ann ...
, with the remaining used to reimburse expenses of "investigative work" done by the campaign.


E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit

In Trump's late 2022 deposition for E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit against him (related to her accusation that Trump raped her in the mid-1990s and his response while U.S. president), Trump was questioned about whether he made the statements in the tape, to which he replied, "Well, historically, that's true with stars." Carroll's lawyers cited the statements as corroborating a larger pattern of sexual abuse by Trump, and his lawyers requested that the tape be disregarded as evidence in the trial. The jurors viewed the tape during trial and went on to find Trump liable for battery and defamation against Carroll. After the jury in the case awarded Carroll $5 million, finding Trump liable for sexual abuse, Trump requested a new trial. In declining this request, Kaplan cited, among other things, the ''Access Hollywood'' tape in his decision, saying, "Mr. Trump's own words from the Access Hollywood tape and from his deposition – that (a) stars ' fortunately or fortunately' 'c ulddo anything' they wished to do to women, including 'grab
ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...
them by the pussy' and (b) he considers himself to be a 'star' – could have been regarded by the jury as a sort of personal confession as to his behavior."


See also

*
2017 Women's March The Women's March was an American protest on January 21, 2017, the day after the first inauguration of Donald Trump as the president of the United States. It was prompted by Trump's policy positions and rhetoric, which were and are seen as mi ...
*
Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal An alleged one-night sexual encounter took place in 2006 between businessman and later U.S. president Donald Trump and pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels, followed by a conspiracy on the part of Trump to cover up the story in the month p ...
*
Protests against Donald Trump Protests against Donald Trump have occurred in the United States and internationally since Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign, his entry into the 2016 presidential campaign. Protests have expressed opposition to Trump's campaign rhetoric, ...
*
Tiny Hands "Tiny Hands" (full title: "We Don't Want Your Tiny Hands, Anywhere Near Our Underpants") is a Protest songs in the United States, protest song by Fiona Apple, released on SoundCloud days prior to the 2017 Women's March (January 21, 2017), for whi ...
*
MeToo movement #MeToo is a social movement and Consciousness raising, awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was init ...
*
October surprise In the politics of the United States, an October surprise is a news event that may influence the outcome of an upcoming November election (particularly one for the presidency), whether deliberately planned or spontaneously occurring. Because th ...


References


External links

* * {{First presidency of Donald Trump 2005 in American television 2005 in Los Angeles County, California 2005 works 2016 controversies in the United States 2016 scandals Articles containing video clips Burbank, California Controversies of the 2016 United States presidential election
Access Hollywood tape On October 7, 2016, one month before the United States presidential election that year, ''The Washington Post'' published a video and article about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and television host Billy Bush having a lewd convers ...
Entertainment scandals Political controversies October 2016 in the United States T September 2005 in the United States Sexual harassment in the United States Political sex scandals in the United States Television controversies in the United States Obscenity controversies in television Political controversies in television Audio evidence