Melania Trump, pictured during her speech at the Republican National Convention in July, said in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper that while she was surprised by a 2005 recording of private comments about women by her husband, Donald Trump, she does not believe any of the accusations that have been made against him by multiple women since the tape was made public. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Melania Trump dismissed accusations of sexual assault levied at her husband in the last week as lies organized to hurt his presidential campaign, and said lewd comments heard in a 2005 recording about his advances on women are nothing more than "boys talk."
Trump said in an interview Monday with CNN's Anderson Cooper that her husband, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, is a kind gentleman who supports women and that former Access Hollywood host Billy Bush nudged him to make the comments.
The interview is the first Melania Trump has done since the off-camera recording was made public. Since the tape was revealed, multiple women have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault, describing situations that sound similar to what he says in the conversation with Bush.
Melania Trump said she does not believe the accusations against her husband, calling the conversation boys talk but that the tape and accusers have been organized by the media and the Clinton campaign to smear him during the election.
"I said to my husband that, you know, the language was inappropriate. It's not acceptable. And I was surprised, because that is not the man that I know," Melania Trump said, later noting he can be both blunt and immature at times when he speaks. "Sometimes I say I have two boys at home -- I have my young son and I have my husband. But I know how some men talk, and that's how I saw it, yes."
Melania Trump said that while her husband was laughing and joking about what sounds like sexual assault, "he didn't say he did it."
She said she has seen women approach Donald Trump inappropriately, knowing that he is married, and seen him rebuff their advances, which is why she believes the vehement, sometimes degrading, denials he has been issuing on the campaign trail.
"It's very hard, especially for him -- when he decided to run for the presidency, because he did so many stuff in his life. He was on so many tapes, so many shows. And we knew that -- that, you know, tapes will come out, people won't want to go against him," Melania Trump said.
"But my husband is real. He's raw. He tells it like it is. He's kind. He's a gentleman. He supports everybody. He supports women. He encourages them to go to the highest level, to achieve their dreams. He employs many, many women."
