Donald Trump on Saturday morning mused that the past 24 hours had been “interesting,” commenting on the time period during which a recording was published that featured him making lewd comments about women.
“Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!” He tweeted on Saturday morning. It was the latest of Trump’s responses to the leaked video of a 2005 conversation—published Friday by the Washington Post— in which he boasts about being able to grope women because of his fame. “And when you’re a star, they let you do it,” Trump says in the video. “You can do anything.”
“Grab them by the p—y,” Trump adds. “You can do anything.”
Trump originally dismissed the remarks as “locker room banter.”
“This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago,” he said in a statement. “Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course – not even close. I apologize if anyone was offended.”
Facing growing backlash over the comments, Trump followed that statement with a video message posted just after midnight on Saturday morning, offering a rare apology
“Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am,” he said. “I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.”
He then pivoted to attack rival Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, calling the video a “distraction” from important issues.
As several Republicans called for Trump to drop out, he told the Washington Post Saturday that he would “never withdraw” from the presidential race.