The hashtag #BillyBushMadeMeDoIt has taken off on social media after Melania Trump said former "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush egged her husband on to make lewd comments about women in recorded comments 11 years ago.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has faced backlash after The Washington Post reported about his comments, which were caught on a hot mic.
"I moved on her, and I failed. I’ll admit it," Trump said in a portion of the released video, which has also led to Bush's departure from NBC's "Today" show. "I did try and f*** her. She was married. And I moved on her very heavily."
Melania Trump defended her husband, who she was married to at the time, while being interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday night.
"And as you can see from the tape, the cameras were not on – it was only a mic," Melania Trump told Cooper about her husband's conversation with Bush. "And I wonder if they even knew that the mic was on."
She said Bush engaged Trump in "boy talk, and he was led on – like, egged on – from the host to say dirty and bad stuff."
Trump apologized for the comments shortly after the Post made them public, but he has continued to struggle in the polls with women since. According to a CBS News poll released Tuesday, 54 percent of female registered voters and a majority of Democrats (84 percent) and independents (52 percent) think Trump's comments then reflect his view of women today. Forty percent of voters – including 69 percent of Republicans – disagree, noted CBS News.
Many on social media, though, weren't impressed with Melania Trump's defense.