In October 2016, just weeks before the presidential election, a 2005 Access Hollywood tape leaked which purported to feature Donald Trump in conversation with NBC’s Billy Bush, bragging about sexually assaulting women. In the recording, Trump credits…
In October 2016, just weeks before the presidential election, a 2005 Access Hollywood tape leaked which purported to feature Donald Trump in conversation with NBC’s Billy Bush, bragging about sexually assaulting women. In the recording, Trump credits his fame with allowing him to wantonly pursue women to whom he is attracted. But last week, news broke that Trump has reportedly contested whether the voice on the recording was actually him. In response on Sunday, Bush, who lost his job following the tape’s leak, wrote an op-ed in The New York Times, in which he eviscerates Trump for suggesting the recording was inauthentic.
« He said it, » Bush wrote. « ‘Grab ’em by the p—y.’ Of course he said it. »
In the op-ed, Bush admit to, at the time, going along with what he described as « hypothetical hot air from America’s highest-rated bloviator. » But, he says, after time wore on and multiple women accused Trump of sexual assault, he began to see Trump’s statements on the tape as more than just braggadocios pontificating. (Trump, for the record, has vehemently denied any allegations of sexual misconduct, and has described the accusations as « totally fake news. ») The conduct that Trump described seemed to manifest in the very allegations that women were reporting.
Billy Bush: « He said it. « Grab ’em by the pussy. » Of course he said it. And we laughed along, without a single doubt that this was hypothetical hot air from America’s highest-rated bloviator… Surely, we thought, none of this was real. We now know better. » https://t.co/Phi0LpzOYr
As a refresher, the most infamous portion of the Access Hollywood tape featured a brief monologue in which Trump says that he can grab women’s genitals because he is famous:
Bush is heard agreeing with, and at times, egging on Trump’s behavior. « Whatever you want, » Bush said in response to Trump’s comments about grabbing women. And later in the tape, he asks an actress to hug Trump, and then himself. « How about a little hug for the Donald? » Bush asks. « He just got off the bus. »
But now, Bush said the events logged in that recording are shaded with foreboding. « Along with Donald Trump and me, there were seven other guys present on the bus at the time, and every single one of us assumed we were listening to a crass standup act, » Bush wrote in Sunday’s op-ed. « He was performing. Surely, we thought, none of this was real. We now know better. »
