Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” while discussing the lewd comments Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made while being recorded in 2005 on a hot microphone, the chair of the Democratic Party committee Donna Brazile said, “this is sexual predatory language, this was not locker room banter.”
Partial transcript as follows:
STEPHANOPOULOS: And we are back now with the chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile, Donna, thank you for coming in this morning. You heard Rudy Giuliani right there. He said that Donald Trump isn’t going anywhere, he’s staying in the race, and that he’s a changed man.
DONNA BRAZILE, CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Ha! Well, look, George, you can draw a straight line between what Donald Trump said in 2005 and what he has been saying every day on the campaign trail over the last year-and-a-half. This is not a changed man. This is who Donald Trump truly is.
When you criticize a judge simply because of his Mexican heritage, when you call women some of the most disgusting things, when you criticize John McCain, criticize people who are disabled, this is who Donald Trump truly is. I’m surprised that the Republicans are disgusted about Donald Trump after all of the things that he has said and all of the comments — the comments that he made over the last couple of years.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, they are running away from him right now.
BRAZILE: Right.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But — and Donald Trump including — just minutes ago, is Tweeting again, Juanita Broderick, a woman who claims…
BRAZILE: Yes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: — that she was raped by Bill Clinton, signaling perhaps this is going to come up tonight.
BRAZILE: Donald Trump has been threatening, as you well know, for — for weeks that he is going to bring up President — former President Clinton’s affairs.Look, at the time, as you well know, George, Secretary Clinton suffered. Chelsea Clinton suffered. And President Clinton was impeached. He was held accountable.
There is no accountability for Donald Trump in the — in the ridiculous and sexist things that he has said and racist things that he has said over the past few years.
So I’m — I’m not surprised that Donald Trump is — is going to try to change the subject. But, you know, tonight’s debate is designed for voters to hear from the candidates, hear real positive solutions. And that’s what Secretary Clinton is prepared to do tonight — talk to voters. She’s not going to, you know, get into the — what I call the fifth that Donald Trump seems to drum up every time he gets in trouble.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But she’s going to address this video tonight.
BRAZILE: Well, I hope so. I mean I hope that she has an opportunity to — to call this sexual assault, to say that this is sexual predatory language, this was not locker room banter. And I hope she has an opportunity to — to talk about her policies for women, and her policies for the country, as well.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you see all of these Republicans over the course of the week have been calling on — on Donald Trump to step aside. You don’t want that, do you?
BRAZILE: It would be political suicide for Donald Trump to — to step down right now. But that being said, when you have the chairman of the party, who normally would like to sit next to me decide not to show up, that’s a — that’s a signal that this party is uncomfortable with the top of their ticket. We’re not uncomfortable. We’re out there every day, the Democratic Party. We have a robust operation. We’re supporting Democrats from the top of the ticket all the way down to the poor house. We’re very satisfied with the ground game that we’re going to have, because we have a strong candidate.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But aren’t you worried that if Mike Pence steps in or some other Republican steps in, with Secretary Clinton’s high unfavorables, this could be a much closer race?
BRAZILE: George, as you well know, people are voting in over a dozen states. Absentee ballots are being mailed out. Mike Pence can step in all he wants, but the problem is how do you — how do you start to tell voters in 30 days that they can’t vote for the person whose name might appear on the ballot but they have to vote for someone — it’s — it would be very confusing.
All I’m telling voters is that go ahead and support Hillary Clinton, support the Democrats, because if you really want to continue the progress we’ve made on jobs and — and keeping the country safe and prosperous, that’s Clinton-Kaine.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Will the Democratic Party oppose efforts in the states, if it comes to that, to change the names on the ballot?
BRAZILE: I’m sure my legal team is already looking at efforts underway, if there are any efforts underway. But right now, we are focused on keeping, as we say, encouraging people to vote early to get out there and to continue voter registration and to turn out on election day.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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