--- title: Mike Pence Secretary Denies He Planned Coup to Replace Trump description: Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary has denied a report saying Pence offered to replace Donald Trump as the Republican nominee. canonical: https://time.com/5049831/mike-pence-access-hollywood-tape/ author: Aric Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-05T16:41:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:53.400Z article:section: Politics og:title: Official Denies Mike Pence Offered to Replace Trump As the Republican Nominee og:description: "We denied this in the article and deny it again today. Didn’t happen" og:url: https://time.com/5049831/mike-pence-access-hollywood-tape/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta140a24e292b3951/6988d9440a4a2279cd9cf6d6/trump-pence-opioid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4756 og:image:height: 2675 og:image:alt: Donald Trump, Mike Pence og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Official Denies Mike Pence Offered to Replace Trump As the Republican Nominee twitter:description: "We denied this in the article and deny it again today. Didn’t happen" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta140a24e292b3951/6988d9440a4a2279cd9cf6d6/trump-pence-opioid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Official Denies Mike Pence Offered to Replace Trump As the Republican Nominee > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times 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. ## 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 [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Dec 5, 2017 4:41 PM UTC  President Donald Trump, accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, speaks to reporters at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., on August 10, 2017. President Donald Trump, accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, speaks to reporters at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., on August 10, 2017. Evan Vucci—AP by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Dec 5, 2017 4:41 PM UTC Vice President [Mike Pence](http://time.com/5003805/donald-trump-mike-pence-official-portraits/)‘s press secretary is denying a report saying Pence offered to replace [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/5048929/most-retweeted-tweets-2017/) as the Republican presidential candidate after the publishing of the infamous [_Access Hollywood_ tape.](http://time.com/5038934/donald-trump-access-hollywood-authentic-tape/) “Regarding _The Atlantic’s_ tired, false claim about the VP during the campaign — we denied this in the article and deny it again today. Didn’t happen,” Pence press secretary Alyssa Farah wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning. Earlier Tuesday, _The_ _Atlantic_ published a [profile of Pence](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/01/gods-plan-for-mike-pence/546569/) outlining the vice president’s political rise and embrace of religion. The magazine reports that in October 2016, Trump aides were concerned that Pence was considering “going rogue” after The Washington _Post_ published a 2005 tape in which Trump boasted about his ability to “grab women by the pussy” because he’s “a star.” > [](https://twitter.com/VPPressSec/status/938047076365193216) “Within hours of _The Post_’s bombshell, Pence made it clear to the Republican National Committee that he was ready to take Trump’s place as the party’s nominee,” _The Atlantic_ reported. It goes on to say that GOP officials were considering running a ticket with Mike Pence in the lead and Condoleezza Rice as the new vice presidential nominee, and that then-RNC chairman and future White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told Trump to “either drop out immediately or lose in a historic landslide.” On Monday, Billy Bush — who Trump was speaking to in the _Access Hollywood_ tape — [called out Trump](http://time.com/5049126/billy-bush-stephen-colbert-donald-trump/) during an appearance on _The Late Show with Stephen Colbert._ Weeks earlier, it was reported that Trump was privately questioning the authenticity of the recording. “That is your voice,” Bush said on _The Late Show_. “I was there, you were there, that’s your voice on the tape.” ## 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. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5049831/mike-pence-access-hollywood-tape/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5049831/mike-pence-access-hollywood-tape/"},"headline":"Official Denies Mike Pence Offered to Replace Trump As the Republican Nominee","datePublished":"2017-12-05T16:41:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:53.400Z","description":"\"We denied this in the article and deny it again today. 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