Access Hollywood Tape Released

The Tape

On October 7, 2016, the Washington Post published a video from 2005 showing Donald Trump in a candid, off-camera conversation with Billy Bush, then the host of Access Hollywood. Trump, apparently unaware his microphone was recording, made a series of statements about women that were graphic even by the standards of the already-turbulent 2016 campaign.

“I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” Trump said on the recording. “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.” He then described grabbing women by their genitals. The recording also captured Trump discussing his unsuccessful attempt to seduce a married woman, saying “I moved on her like a bitch.”

Crisis and Response

The publication of the tape triggered the most severe political crisis of Trump’s candidacy. Within hours, dozens of Republican officeholders called on Trump to withdraw from the race. Several rescinded their endorsements. Senator John Thune, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, said Trump should step aside. Condoleezza Rice, the former Secretary of State, said Trump should drop out. The Republican National Committee reportedly considered the logistics of replacing Trump on the ticket.

Trump released a recorded apology shortly after midnight, saying: “I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.” He characterized the remarks as “locker room talk” and pivoted to attacking Bill Clinton, saying “Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed, and intimidated his victims.”

The Debate

The tape’s release came just two days before the second presidential debate in St. Louis. In a dramatic pre-debate move, Trump held a press conference with several women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct, then brought them to the debate hall to sit in the audience.

During the debate itself, Trump again dismissed the tape as “locker room talk” and denied that he had actually done the things he described. When moderator Anderson Cooper asked directly, “Have you ever done those things?” Trump replied, “No, I have not.” That denial would be challenged in the weeks ahead as multiple women came forward to say he had done precisely what he described.

Aftermath

Despite the unprecedented scale of the crisis, Trump’s campaign survived. His base of support held, and the news cycle shifted within days to the release of hacked Clinton campaign emails by WikiLeaks. The Access Hollywood tape nonetheless marked a watershed moment — both for the 2016 election and for the broader cultural conversation about sexual misconduct that would erupt a year later with the #MeToo movement.