Viraldice: Billy Bush Admits to ‘Bystander Abuse’ in the Wake of Trump’s ’Grab ‘Em by the P*ssy’ Comment

arken back to the halcyon days of October 2016.

It was a heated time of politicians saying heated things. The presidential race was on. Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton "crooked Hillary." Clinton rebutted by calling him "The King of Debt," and reminding voters that all his businesses ended in Chapter 11. There was that whole "basket of deplorables" scandal. It was a glorious, frustrating time to be alive.

Why?

Because, against all odds, it seemed that Donald Trump, the oligarch from Manhattan who became uber-wealthy off a modest “million dollar loan” from his father, was winning.

People could not fathom it. Here was a man who routinely spouted racist, sexist and derogatory commentary that offended even his staunchly-supportive base. Here was a man who was decidedly not religious being applauded by evangelicals and all manner of devout Christians. Here was a man married to a foreign wife who had appeared in soft-core porn. And Republicans seemed to love him.

Then came “grab ’em by the p*ssy.”

The tape, which surfaced on October 8, 2016 saw the future president extolling his  prowess lewdly on a hot mic while then-Access Hollywood host Billy Bush urged him on.

In the audio, Trump discussed his failed seduction attempt of a married woman, saying, ““I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married.”

When Bush replied by saying this of Arianne Zucker, the actress escorting them into  set – “Your girl’s hot as s—, in the purple” – Trump’s comments ramped up.

“I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait… And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the p—y, you can do anything,” Trump said.

 

The fallout was immediate, with people from all factions, including Republican leaders, asking for him to step down.

Trump remained defiant in the face of opposition, issuing a short video statement saying, “I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize,” and ” I’ve said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them.”