Tuesday, 11 October 2016

White House says Barack Obama found Donald Trump tape 'repugnant'

Anonymous 15:03:00

Barack Obama branded Donald Trump "repugnant" following the leak of a video which showed him boasting about groping women, officials have said.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there was wide agreement that Trump's comments on the recording "constituted sexual assault".
He said the President found the tape "as repugnant as most Americans did".
His comments about the 2005 incident, which Mr Trump has apologised for, came just hours after the Republican candidate unleashed a Twitter attack on his own party members - most notably House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Reeling after defections following the release of the tape, Mr Trump called Mr Ryan a "very weak and ineffective" leader who was offering "zero support" for his campaign.

He later tweeted to say he was pleased "the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to", adding: "Disloyal Rs are far more difficult than Crooked Hillary. They come at you from all sides. They don't know how to win - I will teach them!"
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Mr Ryan responded to the jibes by urging Mr Trump to spend more time trying to defeat Democrats than fighting fellow Republicans.
Spokesman Brendan Buck said: "Paul Ryan is focusing the next month on defeating Democrats, and all Republicans running for office should probably do the same."

Following the release of the video, Mr Trump initially said he was sorry "if anyone was offended" by the "locker room banter".
In the clip, he brags about women letting him kiss and grope them because he is famous, saying "when you're a star they let you do it".
He continues: "Grab them by the p****. You can do anything."
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A more forthright apology saying he regretted the incident was issued after a backlash which has seen party colleagues desert him.
Mr Earnest said the turmoil among Republicans was not surprising given that the party had spent years prioritising opposition to Obama over facts or true conservative principles.
He added: "You reap what you sow."
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a top ally of Mr Trump, has described the presidential hopeful's comments as "completely indefensible", but says he is still supporting him.
Addressing the video during an interview with New York sports radio station WFAN, Mr Christie said he would have apologised differently, but said he believed Mr Trump was sorry and embarrassed.