Politics & Government
Melania Trump Says Donald Was 'Egged On' By Billy Bush In Leaked Audio
Trump's wife spoke publicly for the first time since the leaked audio in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday.
Melania Trump said her husband was "egged on" by "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush when Donald Trump described sexually assaulting women in a leaked audio tape that has upended the presidential election.
Melania Trump sat down with CNN's Anderson Cooper for an interview that was scheduled to air at 8 p.m. Eastern time Monday night. The interview contained her first on-camera comments since the release of the tape, in which Donald Trump talks in lewd terms with Bush about how his stardom allows him to kiss and grope women as he pleases.
The leaked tape was from 2005, just months after Donald Trump married Melania, his third wife.
Find out what's happening in Across Americafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"And as you can see from the tape, the cameras were not on — it was only a mic," Melania Trump told Cooper. "And I wonder if they even knew that the mic was on."
She described their conversation as "boy talk. And he was led on — like, egged on — from the host to say dirty and bad stuff."
Find out what's happening in Across Americafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Click here to read more from CNN.
In the most graphic parts of the tape, which was leaked by the Washington Post, Trump and Bush are heard going back and forth. But it's Trump doing most of the talking.
“I’ve gotta use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her,” Trump said at one point in the tape. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.
"And when you’re a star they let you do it,” Trump continued. “You can do anything.”
“Whatever you want,” Bush said.
“Grab them by the p----,” Trump said. “You can do anything.”
The tape's release — and the wave of women that have since come forward alleging similar behavior toward them that Trump described — has led to a near free-fall in national polls, which have him about six or seven points behind Hillary Clinton.
Trump has particularly seen massive losses in polling among women. In a recent CNN/ORC poll, women gave Clinton a 20-point advantage over Trump after the tape's release.
Image via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
