With all the heat over sexual misconduct, President Trump’s “Access Hollywood” admission of his own disgusting, pervy behavior is being debated, again.
Trump is suddenly playing the confused old man and secretly telling people that he thinks the tape is fake. Weird, since when it came out in October 2016, he gave what was supposed to be an apology.
I mean, pointing at former President Bill Clinton’s vile behavior and saying what amounted to, “But… but… Billy did it, too!” isn’t really an apology, but with a man as devoid of human emotional growth as Donald Trump, it’s probably the best you’re going to get.
Billy Bush, host of “Access Hollywood” in 2005, when the tape was originally recorded, has since come forward to say Trump was full of crap. The recording was authentic and absolutely Trump.
In the recording, Trump is heard boasting that his wealth and fame allowed him to just walk up to random women and kiss them or “grab them by the p***y.”
That tape unlocked the floodgates for over a dozen women to come forward with accusations against Trump.
Conventional wisdom – based on a combination of past political knowledge and some naïve, nostalgic clinging to common decency that no longer exists in our two main political parties – led everyone to predict the demise of Trump’s chances.
In fact, according to a new report from The Atlantic, the concern was such that Trump’s team and RNC officials were ready to replace him.
And when I say “Trump’s team,” I mean Mike Pence jumped on it like a dog on a pork chop, and announced that he was ready to take over the top of the ticket.
Not only was Pence ready to step into the role as nominee, but the plan was to bring in former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as his running mate.
There was more than just a passing concern.
At a meeting with Trump’s top advisers after the tape surfaced, Reince Priebus — the former RNC chair who went on to become Trump’s chief of staff before leaving the post earlier this year — told Trump that Pence and Rice were “ready to step in.”
He warned that Trump would lose if he didn’t drop out, according to the publication.
There’s that clinging to conventional wisdom and mores.
Not surprisingly, Pence’s people are saying now that Pence didn’t offer to step up into the top spot. He’s the only candidate in recent history who is perfectly satisfied with playing bobbleheaded sidekick.
Of course, this was the election that showed the world that morality isn’t something valued in American leadership any longer, so all bets are off the table, now.
I suspect that while other men in powerful positions are being destroyed by revelations into their boorish, corrupt behavior, should Trump decide to run again (he won’t), he could spend an entire campaign rally just talking about all the women he’s abused, in full, graphic detail, and his supporters would cheer him on.
And Pence would stand off to the side and politely smile.
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