Ohio Gov. John Kasich, one of the few former 2016 GOP candidates who refused to endorse Donald Trump as the party's presidential nominee, Friday called the comments the real estate mogul made about women back in 2005 "indefensible."
Kasich, like a host of other prominent Republicans, posted his statements decrying the comments, made to then-"Access Hollywood" correspondent Billy Bush and caught on a hot mic as Trump made his way to appear in a soap opera cameo, on Twitter:
The audio recording, released Friday after a tipster called The Washington Post, revealed Trump telling about trying to seduce a married woman, later revealed as "Access Hollywood" anchor Nancy O'Dell, and bragging to Bush that because he was famous, he was able to kiss and grab women without asking for their consent.
Trump was newly married to his current wife, Melania Trump, at the time the conversation took place.
Kasich campaign strategist John Weaver criticized Trump as well, but also slammed Republicans who complained about the nominee's words while continuing to support his candidacy, reports Cincinnati ABC affiliate WCPO.
House Speaker Paul Ryan uninvited Trump from a Saturday campaign event, saying he was "sickened" by what he heard on the tape. However, he has not pulled back his support. Neither has Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who said no woman "should ever be described in these terms, or talked about in this manner. Ever."
Weaver posted a tweets complaining about such statements:
Related stories:
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.