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Fact check: What were the exact comments made by Donald Trump in the Access Hollywood tape?
Executive Summary
The Access Hollywood tape records Donald Trump in 2005 making explicit, lewd remarks about women, including a first-person account of attempting to seduce a married woman and a declaration that “when you’re a star, you can do anything,” followed by a graphic line about forcibly kissing and groping women [1] [2]. The recording prompted a public apology, widespread condemnation across the political spectrum, and has been cited in later legal and political developments, including reporting that prosecutors used the tape to describe campaign damage control tied to alleged hush-money payments [3] [4].
1. How the tape captured the comments and what was said
The tape, recorded in 2005 and first published in October 2016, captures a private conversation between Donald Trump and Access Hollywood host Billy Bush in which Trump describes trying to seduce a married woman, saying he moved on her and “kissed her” and “grabbed her” as part of a braggadocious recollection. Trump’s most widely quoted line—“when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything”—is followed by the explicit phrase about groping women, which many outlets transcribed verbatim [1] [2]. Transcripts and video of the exchange were distributed by major outlets, making the exact language broadly available [1] [5].
2. Immediate political fallout and Republican reactions
After the tape’s release, Trump issued a public apology while simultaneously appearing defiant, acknowledging the remarks and saying they “don’t reflect who I am,” pledging to be a better man, even as many Republicans and public figures condemned the language [3] [5]. Several GOP leaders called the comments unacceptable, and some political figures urged Trump to leave the race; however, a substantial portion of Republican voters and officials continued to support his candidacy, illustrating a split between condemnation of the remarks and political calculations about electoral viability [2] [3].
3. Media documentation and transcript availability
Multiple outlets published full transcripts and video clips of the exchange immediately, ensuring the precise wording entered the public record; The New York Times and BBC posted full transcripts and contextual reporting the first days after publication, while compiled entries and summaries appeared in encyclopedic sources mapping the controversy and reactions [1] [2] [6]. These contemporaneous transcripts formed the baseline for subsequent reporting and legal reference, allowing later journalists and prosecutors to cite exact phrases when discussing the political and legal ramifications [1] [6].
4. Billy Bush’s role and later recollections
Billy Bush, the Access Hollywood host present on the tape, later said he flagged the tape’s lewdness to a producer at the time and has recounted the incident’s fallout in interviews, including the loss of his role on Today and his career consequences [7]. Bush’s later statements, reported in mid-2025, emphasize his immediate discomfort and the professional repercussions he experienced, which media outlets tied to the public release of the tape and the ensuing controversy [7]. These personal accounts reinforced the tape’s authenticity and workplace consequences.
5. The tape’s place in legal and prosecutorial narratives
Prosecutors and reporting on criminal cases involving Trump have used the tape as part of broader narratives describing campaign-era decision-making and “damage-control” actions, notably linking the public relations crisis triggered by the tape to subsequent alleged attempts to suppress negative stories, including payments at the center of criminal charges [4]. Legal filings and media summaries in 2024 connected the tape’s release to the sequence of events leading to the Stormy Daniels hush-money matter, with prosecutors arguing the tape helped catalyze campaign responses [4]. The tape therefore appears as an evidentiary and contextual element in legal debates.
6. How Trump framed the remarks afterward and public messaging
After the tape emerged, Trump framed his remarks as “locker-room talk” and issued an apology, saying the language was inappropriate and did not reflect his character, while continuing to challenge the significance of the tape politically [5] [8]. Media coverage documented both the apology and subsequent campaign messaging that sought to limit political damage, with some outlets noting persistent denials or efforts to reframe the context. The tape thus functioned as both a media moment and a sustained point of contention in messaging by Trump and his allies [5].
7. Why the exact wording matters for history and law
The tape’s explicit wording—documented in contemporaneous transcripts and widely cited by journalists and prosecutors—matters because verbatim quotes anchor claims about sexual misconduct, political accountability, and campaign responses. The precise language allowed commentators, party leaders, and legal actors to assess the gravity of the remarks and to cite them in political and legal narratives, from calls for censure in 2016 to prosecutors’ accounts of campaign damage control in later indictments [1] [4]. The archival availability of the transcript ensures those exact comments remain part of the public record [1] [6].