Donald Trump made some ugly comments about women in 2005, and they might haunt him for the next 31 days.
The Washington Post published a secretly recorded video that captures Trump talking about what you can do to women if you’re a famous man:
They let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy ... I did try and fuck her. She was married. I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. … I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there and she was married.
It took almost no time for Hillary Clinton’s team to seize on Trump’s remarks. Within the hour, Clinton was responding to the tape on Twitter:
This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president. https://t.co/RwhW7yeFI2
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 7, 2016
In an interview with reporters shortly afterward, Clinton running mate Tim Kaine continued to press the case that Trump’s comments were disqualifying. “It makes me sick to my stomach,” Kaine said. “This is behavior that is just outrageous.”
.@timkaine says he's "not surprised" by Trump's 2005 comments about women: "It makes me sick to my stomach." https://t.co/y79EwSEv3J
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) October 7, 2016
The new tape is a blow for Trump. There’s just two days until the high-stakes second presidential debate, and there’s little doubt that this story will stay on the airwaves until then. However Trump responds to questions about the video at the debate will also probably dominate the headlines for days. And with just 31 days left in the campaign, Trump is already trailing in the polls by 4 or 5 points.
Trump needed some new Clinton scandal or “October surprise” to have a chance of clawing his way back into the race. Instead, he’ll be trying to explain why “grab ’em by the pussy” is an okay thing for the future leader of America to say.
