“Grab them by the p***y.” Thought that phrase was buried in the past? Think again. With the election on the horizon, the notorious conversation between former President Donald Trump and Billy Bush, then of Access Hollywood, has since resurfaced on TikTok and is horrifying a whole new generation of voters.
Earlier this month, the TikTok account of the Republican Voters Against Trump reposted the infamous Access Hollywood tape, reigniting controversy just ahead of the election. In the 2005 recording, Trump is caught on a hot mic bragging about kissing, groping, and pursuing women without consent. Originally leaked during the 2016 election as an “October surprise,” the tape dates back to an incidental conversation from that year on a bus arriving at the set of Days of Our Lives, a soap opera that was set to feature Trump in a cameo appearance.
“I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her,” Trump said to Bush. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful . . . I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” Trump continued. “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.”
The resurfaced audio has kicked off a viral TikTok maelstrom of young women filming their reactions to hearing the audio, eight years after the clip’s release. “When your father who has 6 daughters and 4 granddaughters who is also a men’s pastor is voting for this man again,” reads one video caption. “It’s honestly a slap in our face.”
“Just a reminder, this is the man on the ballot this year,” adds another. All the women in the videos have the same expression while listening to the audio: one of disgust. The comments of many of the videos are also filled with blue heart emojis, signaling their support for the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
After the tape was released by the media to public outrage, Trump said in a statement: “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.”