- Title: Some Americans say unsurprised by Trump lewd comments
- Date: 8th October 2016
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 08, 2016) (REUTERS) PEOPLE LOOKING AT NEWSPAPER HEADLINES ON DISPLAY OUTSIDE OF THE NEWSEUM NEWSPAPER FEATURING HEADLINE ABOUT TRUMP COMMENTS MAN LOOKING AT NEWSPAPER CLOSE ON HEADLINE READING: "Trump Bragged he Groped Women" (SOUNDBITE) (English) WOMAN VISITING NEWSEUM, CAITLIN SANROMAN, SAYING: "Honestly I wasn't surprised. It just seemed like something that he would do. And now he's getting caught, I mean… I was not surprised at all. Obviously it's ridiculous obviously it's something that you shouldn't say, you shouldn't get caught saying. I'm just not surprised." WOMAN VISITING NEWSEUM, KATHY JONES, LOOKING AT NEWSPAPER HEADLINES ON DISPLAY OUTSIDE HEADLINE IN SALT LAKE TRIBUTE ABOUT TRUMP COMMENTS JONES LOOKING AT NEWSPAPER HEADLINE CLOSE ON HEADLINE (SOUNDBITE) (English) WOMAN VISITING NEWSEUM, KATHY JONES, SAYING: "I think we need a gentleman to be president, or a gentlewoman. I don't think we're headed I the right direction with this. And actually it frightens me a bit because I don't think he has what it takes to run the country." VISITORS TO NEWSEUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAN VISITING NEWSEUM, BRIAN HOLLOWOOD, SAYING: "Distasteful. It was a stupid thing to say. I'm not sure anybody my age or his age hasn't said something stupid like that. And I'm lucky that when I as in college there wasn't any kind of YouTube or iPhones or anything like that because I'm sure there would be tapes of me saying something like that. But for a presidential candidate to say something like that is just beyond the pale. I was a supporter before that, and as a father of two daughters, even though the Clinton crime family doesn't have an exemplary record of the way to treat women, I'm not sure I could support him anymore. But since those are our two choices I guess I probably still have to." EL PASO TIMES NEWSPAPER FEATURING HEADLINE ABOUT TRUMP COMMENTS, READING: "Trump says Groping 'Easy' as a Star" CLOSE ON WORD 'GROPING' (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAN VISITING NEWSEUM, JASPER NATHANIEL [WHO IS STANDING WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND, LAUREN WILSON] SAYING: "The reaction to Trump's reaction calling it locker-room banter is insulting to me as a guy who has engaged in plenty of locker room banter in my day and has never suggested that sexually assaulting a woman is part of banter. And for him to give license to other borderline sexual predators to fully unhinge and do that, I think it's pretty gross." (SOUNDBITE) (English) WOMAN VISITING NEWSEUM, LAUREN WILLSON, SAYING: "Like it's just, it's extremely sexist, I think also the comments. Anybody defending him in this situation saying, you know, women maybe liked it or preferred it just sort of blaming the victim and definitely not a message that you want to send to any women in this country or a man or any other country." CLOSE ON NEWSPAPER HEADLINE WIDE OF NEWSEUM
- Embargoed: 23rd October 2016 18:16
- Keywords: Trump tape lewd Republicans election Hillary Clinton
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA0015359P3B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Some Americans said on Saturday (October 8) that they were offended but not surprised by lewd comments about women by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in 2005.
Visitors to the Newseum, the journalism museum in Washington, D.C., looked at the display of national newspapers headlines outside, many of featured headlines about the controversy.
Disclosure of a 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking openly about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped months after Trump married his third wife, Melania.
"Honestly I wasn't surprised. It just seemed like something that he would do. And now he's getting caught, I mean… I was not surprised at all. Obviously it's ridiculous obviously it's something that you shouldn't say, you shouldn't get caught saying. I'm just not surprised," said 25 year-old Caitlin SanRoman from Nashville Tennessee.
Trump vowed on Saturday to remain in the presidential race after prominent members of his party withdrew their support and urged him to drop out after the story broke.
Kathy Jones from Iowa said Trump's comments were further evidence that he is not qualified to be president.
"I think we need a gentleman to be president, or a gentlewoman. I don't think we're headed I the right direction with this. And actually it frightens me a bit because I don't think he has what it takes to run the country," she said.
Trump released an apology on Saturday morning, but it has not stymied calls from members of his party to quit.
Brian Hollowood, called the comments "distasteful" and said he has planned to vote for Trump, but is now having doubts.
"It was a stupid thing to say. I'm not sure anybody my age or his age hasn't said something stupid like that. And I'm lucky that when I as in college there wasn't any kind of YouTube or iPhones or anything like that because I'm sure there would be tapes of me saying something like that. But for a presidential candidate to say something like that is just beyond the pale. I was a supporter before that, and as a father of two daughters, even though the Clinton crime family doesn't have an exemplary record of the way to treat women, I'm not sure I could support him anymore. But since those are our two choices I guess I probably still have to," said Hollowood, who is from Saratoga Springs, New York.
Trump has attempted to shift the focus to his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, threatening, again, to focus his attacks on the infidelities of her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Jasper Nathaniel, who lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, said that rationalizing Trump's comments was inappropriate.
"The reaction to Trump's reaction calling it locker-room banter is insulting to me as a guy who has engaged in plenty of locker room banter in my day and has never suggested that sexually assaulting a woman is part of banter," he said.
Trump's comments are indefensible, said his partner, Lauren Willson.
"Anybody defending him in this situation saying, you know, women maybe liked it or preferred it just sort of blaming the victim and definitely not a message that you want to send to any women in this country or a man or any other country," she said.
Trump has struggled to win over women voters, lagging Clinton in the polls. Democrats have sought to highlight past Trump behavior toward women in an effort to erode his support with less than a month to go until the Nov. 8 election.
The video landed just ahead of the second presidential debate on Sunday night, which had been seen as critical for Trump to try to rebound from a dip in some polls after a rocky performance in the first debate. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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