The chairman of the Republican National Committee released a statement Friday night, hours after The Washington Post posted an audio file with Donald J. Trump talking to Access Hollywood, speaking with direct language about his pursuit of a married woman and the advantages of being a celebrity.
“No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever,” read the statement from Reince Priebus sent out by the RNC, without any other quotes or commentary.
Trump, who was wearing a live wireless mic as part of his segment on the program, is heard saying: “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the p%ssy. You can do anything.”
One of the show’s hosts, Billy Bush, is also on the tape, which captured the two men bantering on a shuttle bus that took them to the set of the soap opera Days of Our Lives, on which Trump was making a cameo appearance.
Throughout the conversation, Bush is heard laughing along with Trump and joining in the conversation’s flow.
In addition to off-color language and subject matter, Trump describes to Bush his unsuccessful courtship of a married woman in Palm Beach, whom Trump took furniture shopping and to whom he dedicated time and attention but was unable to seduce. “I’ll failed. I admit it.”
The Trump campaign released its own statement attributed to the New York City developer: “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.”
For Priebus, the controversy comes on the eve of a personal triumph. After months of awkwardness, the RNC chairman, a native of Wisconsin, was going to witness the first time Trump would be joined on the campaign trail with the chairman’s fellow Badger Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R.-Wis.), along with Sen. Ron Johnson (R.-Wis.), who has also dealt with Trump from a distance.