TRUMP TO FIGHT ON
White House bid in tatters after his ‘vile’ jibes
US presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed last night to remain in the race even as his campaign was thrown into crisis as both his wife and running mate criticised him and more than a dozen prominent Republicans withdrew support and urged him to drop out following news of a recording of him making lewd comments.
“The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly — I will never drop out of the race, will never let my supporters down!” Trump wrote yesterday on Twitter.
The video was the latest calamity for Trump, who had hoped to revive his flagging campaign in the face of a drop in polls with less than a month until Election Day.
Trump is due to appear alongside Democrat Hillary Clinton tonight in their second debate in the run up to the election. Clinton is not expected to address Trump’s video before then.
The 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman, now known to be TV host Nancy O’Dell.
The video was taped only months after Trump married his third wife, Melania. In a statement, Melania Trump called her husband’s words “unacceptable and offensive to me.”
“This does not represent the man that I know,” Melania Trump said. “He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world.”
The backlash against the video was swift and widespread. More than 60 prominent Republican current and former officeholders issued statements condemning Trump’s remarks about women, including more than 20 who called for him to end his presidential bid.
In an unusual move, vice presidential running mate Mike Pence issued a critical statement of Trump’s words, saying on Twitter that he “cannot defend them”.
“As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump,” said Pence, who is governor of Indiana.
Actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also withdrew his support saying: “As proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else — American. So I want to take a moment to remind my fellow Republicans that it is not only acceptable to choose your country over your party — it is your duty.”
DONALD Trump has apologised for “causing offence” after a leaked 1995 recording exposed the Republican’s lewd and crass comments about women.
As he travelled on a bus with Billy Bush of Access Hollywood to meet Days of our Lives actress Arianna Zucker, Mr Trump bragged about his attempts to have sexual intercourse with a married woman who rejected his advances.
He insisted he had the right to do “whatever he wanted” with women, as he was a “star”.
Leading showbiz journalist Nancy O’Dell yesterday identified herself as the woman and said she was “saddened” by the remarks. Trump, who was 59 at the time, had just married his third wife, Melania Trump. Mr Trump has since dismissed the comments as “locker room banter” made a decade ago and said he had much “worse” from Bill Clinton on the golf course.
Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told CNN that the American people would appreciate that Mr Trump “talked from the heart”.
These are the remarks in the video, obtained by the Washington Post:
DONALD TRUMP: You know I moved on her actually. You know she was down on Palm Beach.
UNKNOWN: She used to be great. She’s still very beautiful.
TRUMP: I moved on her and I failed. I’ll admit it. I did try and f *** her. She was married.
UNKNOWN: That’s huge news.
TRUMP: No, no, Nancy. This was — And I moved on her very heavily in fact. I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture. I took her out furniture shopping. I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there, and she was married.
Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big, phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.
[The men spot Arianne Zucker waiting for them outside the bus]
BUSH: Sheesh, your girl’s hot as shit. In the purple.
TRUMP: Whoa! Yes! Whoa!
UNKNOWN: : Yes! The Donald has scored. Whoa, my man!
TRUMP: Look at you. You are a pussy.
[Crosstalk as the bus doors open and close — Trump is still on the bus]
TRUMP: Maybe it’s a different one.
BUSH: It better not be the publicist. No, it’s her. It’s —
TRUMP: Yeah, that’s her. With the gold. I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her.
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. You can do anything.
BUSH: Whatever you want.
TRUMP: Grab them by the p **** . You can do anything.
BUSH: Yeah those legs, all I can see is the legs.
TRUMP: Oh, it looks good. BUSH: Come on, shorty.
TRUMP: Oh, nice legs, huh? BUSH: Oof, get out of the way, honey. Oh, that’s good legs. Go ahead.
TRUMP: It’s always good if you don’t fall out of the bus. Like Ford, Gerald Ford, remember?
[Trump knocks on the bus door to get out]
BUSH: Down below. Pull the handle.
TRUMP: Hello. How are you? Hi.
ARIANNE ZUCKER: Hi Mr Trump. How are you?
TRUMP: Nice seeing you. Terrific, terrific. YOU know Billy Bush?
BUSH: Hello, nice to see you. How you doing, Arianne?
ZUCKER: I’m doing very well, thank you. Are you ready to be a soap star?
TRUMP:: We’re ready, let’s go. Make me a soap star.
BUSH: How about a little hug for the Donald? He just got off the bus.
ZUCKER: Would you like a little hug, darling?
TRUMP: Absolutely. Melania said this was okay.
BUSH: How about a little hug for the Bushy? I just got off the bus. Here we go. Excellent. Well you’ve got a nice co-star here.
TRUMP: Good. After you. Come on, Billy, don’t be shy.
[The three of them start walking towards the set]
BUSH: Soon as a beautiful woman shows up he just, he takes off. This always happens.
Let the little guy in here, come on.
ZUCKER: Yeah let the little guy in. HOW you feel now? Better? I should actually be in the middle.
TRUMP: Bush: It’s hard to walk next to a guy like this.
Yeah, you get in the middle. There we go.
ZUCKER: This is much better. This is—
TRUMP: That’s better. BUSH: Now, if you had to choose honestly between one of us. Me or the Donald?
TRUMP: I don’t know, that’s rough competition. THAT’S some pressure right there.
BUSH: Seriously, you had to take one of us as a date.
ZUCKER: I have to take the Fifth on that one.
“Yep. I’ll take both.”