Melania Trump is speaking out almost 24 hours after audio of a lewd conversation between her husband Donald Trump and Billy Bush was made public.
“The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me. This does not represent the man that I know,” she wrote in a statement posted online. “He has the heart and mind of a leader.”
She added, “I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world. “
The comment comes one day before Donald and Hillary Clinton will participate in the second Presidential debate.
It also comes after Billy apologized for his behavior in the conversation. “Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed. It’s no excuse, but this happened eleven years ago—I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry,” he said in a statement obtained by E! News.
On Friday, the Washington Post obtained footage from 2005, which includes audio of Billy and Donald using extremely vulgar language while discussing women while riding on an Access Hollywood bus to the set of Days of Our Lives.
In the footage, Donald is overheard telling Billy and several others about a failed attempt to seduce an unnamed woman, saying, “I moved on her and I failed. I’ll admit it. I did try and f–k her. She was married.”
He continued, “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.'” Access Hollywood would later confirm the woman being discussed was Nancy O’Dell.
“Politics aside, I’m saddened that these comments still exist in our society at all. When I heard the comments yesterday, it was disappointing to hear such objectification of women. The conversation needs to change because no female, no person, should be the subject of such crass comments, whether or not cameras are rolling,” Nancy shared in a statement to Entertainment Tonight Saturday afternoon. “Everyone deserves respect no matter the setting or gender. As a woman who has worked very hard to establish her career, and as a mom, I feel I must speak out with the hope that as a society we will always strive to be better.”
Donald released a statement and posted a video message on his social media Friday evening. “This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago. Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course—not even close,” he shared. “I apologize if anyone was offended.”
One company caught in the middle of the political scandal is Tic Tac. In the audio, Donald is overheard saying “I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her” before meeting up with Days of Our Lives star Arianne Zucker for a shoot.
In response to the footage, Tic Tac released a statement on Twitter that read: “Tic Tac respects all women. We find the recent statements and behavior completely inappropriate and unacceptable.”
