Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape

Donald Trump in 2008 and Billy Bush in 2006
This article is part of
a series about
Donald Trump
Business and personal
45th & 47th President of the
United States
Tenure
Policies
Appointments
Presidential campaigns
Impeachments
Civil and criminal prosecutions
COVID-19 pandemic
Donald Trump's signature
Seal of the President of the United States

On October 7, 2016, one month before the United States presidential election, The Washington Post published a video and article about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and television host Billy Bush 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, a show owned by NBCUniversal. 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. You can do anything."[1] Many commentators and lawyers described such an action as sexual assault.[2] Others argued that the remarks were an assertion that sexual consent is easier to obtain for the famous and wealthy.[3]

News of the recording broke two days before the 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, but he attempted to deflect attention by saying that Bill Clinton had "said far worse to me on the golf course".[4] 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, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, 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, stated that they would no longer support Trump's presidential campaign, and some called for his withdrawal from the ticket. House Speaker Paul Ryan 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 show, another show owned by NBCUniversal and aired on the NBC television network, and several women made allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump.

The release of the tape was regarded as an "October surprise", influencing public opinion in the weeks before the election.[5][6] According to a 2020 study, it reduced public support for Trump.[7] 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".[8] 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."[9] The tape was used as evidence during the trial.[10] On May 9, 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation against Carroll and ordered him to pay her $5 million.[11] On July 19, 2023, Judge Kaplan denied Donald Trump's request for a new trial (appeal): "Mr. Trump's motion for a new trial on damages or a remittitur (Dkt 204) is denied."[12]

  1. ^ "Transcript: Donald Trump's Taped Comments About Women". The New York Times. October 8, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  2. ^ Arrowood, Emily (October 7, 2016). "The Very Definition of Sexual Assault". U.S. News. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  3. ^ Jackson, Abby (October 12, 2016). "Law professor: What Donald Trump described in his lewd comments about women may not be sexual assault". Business Insider. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  4. ^ Johnston, Ian (October 7, 2016). "Trump claims Bill Clinton said 'far worse to me' amid storm over lewd remarks about women". The Independent. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  5. ^ Alberta, Tim (July 10, 2017). "'Mother Is Not Going to Like This': The 48 Hours That Almost Brought Down Trump". Politico.
  6. ^ Stuart, Tess (November 2, 2016). "A Timeline of the 23 October Surprises of the 2016 Election". Rolling Stone.
  7. ^ Rhodes, Jesse H.; Sharrow, Elizabeth A.; Greenlee, Jill S.; Nteta, Tatishe M. (2020). "Just Locker Room Talk? Explicit Sexism and the Impact of the Access Hollywood Tape on Electoral Support for Donald Trump in 2016". Political Communication. 37 (6): 741–767. doi:10.1080/10584609.2020.1753867. ISSN 1058-4609. S2CID 216339291.
  8. ^ "US election: Donald Trump sorry for obscene remarks on women". BBC News. October 8, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  9. ^ Rubin, Olivia (May 5, 2023). "Trump, in deposition, doubles down on 'Access Hollywood' remarks about grabbing women". ABC News. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  10. ^ Schonfeld, Zach (May 9, 2023). "Trump found liable for sexual battery, defamation in E. Jean Carroll trial". The Hill. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  11. ^ Blake, Aaron (July 19, 2023). "Analysis | Judge clarifies: Yes, Trump was found to have raped E. Jean Carroll". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  12. ^ Kaplan, Lewis (July 19, 2023). "MEMORANDUM OPINION DENYING DEFENDANT'S RULE 59 MOTION" (PDF). United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. p. 43. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023 – via CourtListener.