--- title: Donald Trump Says He Can ‘Do Anything’ to Women on Hot Mic description: Donald Trump on Friday played down but also quickly apologized for 2005 remarks that surfaced in newly-published audio canonical: https://time.com/4523526/donald-trump-women-leaked-audio/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-07T20:45:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-17T15:48:17.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump in Leaked Audio: I Can ‘Do Anything’ to Women og:description: "When you’re a star they let you do it" og:url: https://time.com/4523526/donald-trump-women-leaked-audio/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd72f461259864f24/6988a933524fc03080df9c4c/donald-trump-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Pueblo og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump in Leaked Audio: I Can ‘Do Anything’ to Women twitter:description: "When you’re a star they let you do it" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd72f461259864f24/6988a933524fc03080df9c4c/donald-trump-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump in Leaked Audio: I Can ‘Do Anything’ to Women > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=284434ca-70f5-4e49-8e92-f3229bf4a38d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump's Facebook Statement [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump's Facebook Statement](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MLqKZLTC.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2016-10-08. The bombshell dropped on the Washington Post’s website : a video of Donald Trump, in 2005, using extremely vulgar language to describe women, detailing his attempt to bed a married woman and bragging that he can grope women because he is a celebrity._  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Updated: Jan 17, 2024 3:48 PM UTCPublished: Oct 7, 2016 8:45 PM UTC  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Updated: Jan 17, 2024 3:48 PM UTCPublished: Oct 7, 2016 8:45 PM UTC [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4522768/donald-trump-undocumented-immigrants-let-in-so-they-can-go-and-vote/) on Friday responded to [newly-published audio](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4%5Fstory.html?tid=sm%5Ftw) of 2005 remarks, in which he was heard lewdly bragging about his ability to “do anything” to women. In the audio, published by [the Washington _Post_,](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4%5Fstory.html?hpid=hp%5Fhp-top-table-main%5Ftrumptape-404pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory) Trump tells TV host Billy Bush how he unsuccessfully tried to have sex with a married woman and how “you can do anything” to women “when you’re a star.” The conversation caught on a hot mic took place shortly after Trump married his third wife, Melania, according to the newspaper. “I moved on her and I failed. I’ll admit it,” Trump can be heard saying. “I did try and f–k her. She was married. And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, ‘I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.’” “I moved on her like a b—h, but I couldn’t get there,” he adds. “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.” The real estate mogul also told Bush that he’s “automatically attracted to beautiful” women, like a “magnet,” and that sometimes he goes straight for a kiss. “I just start kissing them,” he says. “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,” Trump adds. “You can do anything.” Trump quickly responded Friday with a [statement](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/statement-from-donald-j.-trump). “This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago,” he said. “Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course—not even close.” Hillary Clinton criticized Trump’s comments, calling them “horrific.” “We cannot allow this man to become president,” she [tweeted](https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/784497331647422464). ## Transcript I've never said I'm a perfect person nor pretended to be someone that I'm not. 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. Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it. I was wrong and I apologize. I've traveled the country talking about change for America but my travels have also changed me. I've spent time with grieving mothers who've lost their children, laid off workers whose jobs have gone to other countries, and people from all walks of life who just want a better future. I have gotten to know the great people of our country and I've been humbled by the faith they placed in me. I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never ever let you down. Let's be honest we're living in the real world. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we are facing today. We are losing our jobs. We are less safe than we were eight years ago and Washington is totally broken. Hillary Clinton and her kind have run our country into the ground. I've said some foolish things but there is a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday. 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