Republican nominee Donald Trump will not attend an event in Elkhorn Saturday after a 2005 video showing the business mogul making derogatory comments about women was released by the Washington Post.
In a conversation with entertainment reporter Billy Bush, Trump bragged about kissing and groping women, saying, “When you’re a star they let you do it,” in justifying his actions.
“I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” Trump says in the recording. “Grab them by the p---y, you can do anything.”
The Trump campaign brushed aside the remarks, calling it “locker-room banter.”
“Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course—not even close,” Trump said in a statement. “I apologize if anyone was offended.”
Fallout from the remarks was quick and decisive, however. House Speaker Paul Ryan, who was hosting the event in Walworth County which Trump was slated to attend, said he was “sickened” by the remarks and disinvited Trump from Saturday’s proceedings.
“Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified,” Ryan said in a statement. “I hope Mr. Trump treats this situation with the seriousness it deserves and works to demonstrate to the country that he has greater respect for women than this clip suggests. In the meantime, he is no longer attending tomorrow’s event in Wisconsin.”
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton sharply condemned the tape in a statement Friday afternoon.
“This is horrific,” Clinton wrote. “We cannot allow this man to become president.”
The Trump campaign later announced he would not attend the event in Wisconsin and would instead dispatch vice presidential nominee Mike Pence to speak instead. Ryan, Gov. Scott Walker and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., are all slated to speak as of Friday evening.
