The videotape release comes at a most inopportune time for the Republican nominee, who was trying to use his running mate’s well-received debate performance on Tuesday to reboot his campaign after a week of distractions and controversy. On Wednesday he told a local news interviewer that his previous offensive comments about women – which have dogged his campaign since the first Republican primary debate last August – were made for the “purpose of entertainment”.<\/p>\n
That explanation doesn’t fit with the boorish, newly married Trump shown on the video privately boasting about his efforts to seduce a married woman and have his way with whomever he pleases.<\/p>\n
Now Mr Trump will enter Sunday’s debate with a new cloud hanging over his candidacy. It’s almost certain that one of the town hall participants will ask him about it. There may be no easy way to respond – but Mr Trump will have to find an acceptable answer. If he bungles it, nothing else he says during the 90-minute debate will matter.<\/p>\n
“Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked and shamed his victims.<\/p>\n
“We’ll discuss this in the coming days,” he said. “See you at the debate on Sunday.”<\/p>\n
The second TV debate between Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton will take place on Sunday evening in St Louis.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump recently said he would not bring up stories about Bill Clinton’s infidelities in the debate, after previously threatening to do so.<\/p>\n
The latest opinion polls suggest Mrs Clinton is pulling ahead in key battleground states and Mr Trump will need a good performance at the debate to slow the trend.<\/p>\n
‘I moved on her’<\/strong><\/p>\n In the video, posted by the Washington Post, Mr Trump is heard bragging to TV host Billy Bush about trying to have sex with a married woman as well as kissing and groping others.<\/p>\n The clip was part of unaired footage of an Access Hollywood segment ahead of Mr Trump’s appearance on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.<\/p>\n “I moved on her and I failed. I’ll admit it,” Mr Trump is heard saying. “She was married. And I moved on her very heavily.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Later in the conversation, he told Mr Bush he was “automatically attracted to beautiful” women and often tried to kiss them.<\/p>\n “I just start kissing them,” he said. “I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”<\/p>\n Top Republicans have been incensed by the comments.<\/p>\n House Speaker Paul Ryan said he was “sickened by what I heard today” and rescinded his invitation to Mr Trump to attend the Republican Fall Fest in his home state of Wisconsin this weekend.<\/p>\n Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said the comments were “repugnant,” adding that Mr Trump “needs to apologise directly to women and girls everywhere”.<\/p>\n Another senior Republican, John McCain, said there were “no excuses for Donald Trump’s offensive and demeaning comments”.<\/p>\n For his part, Billy Bush said he was “embarrassed” by and “ashamed” of the contents of the video.<\/p>\n “It’s no excuse, but this happened 11 years ago. I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry.”<\/p>\n Mr Trump has said the latest remarks are “nothing more than a distraction” and “locker-room banter”.<\/p>\n He once famously said at a campaign rally in January: “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.”<\/p>\n He will be hoping his latest comments follow that trend.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" US presidential candidate Donald Trump has apologised for obscene comments about women he made in a newly released videotape from 2005. Mr Trump said that “these words don’t reflect who I am… I apologise”. In the video, Mr Trump says “you can do anything” to women “when you’re a star” and brags about trying to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":237705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[3,109,1693],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Paul](\"http:\/\/ichef-1.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/F674\/production\/_91629036_035594486-1.jpg\")