White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday said President Donald Trump has not “changed his position” on the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, despite a report that Trump has privately questioned its authenticity.
Sanders said the recording “was litigated and certainly answered during the election by the overwhelming support” for Trump and his eventual victory.
“He’s made his position on that clear at that time, as have the American people,” she said.
“He apologized for it, which would seem to acknowledge its authenticity and that position hasn’t changed?” a reporter pressed Sanders.
“Like I just said, the President hasn’t changed his position,” she replied. “I think if anything that the President questions, it’s the media’s reporting on that accuracy.”
Pressed to specify what reporting Trump is questioning, Sanders said, “I said what he didn’t like and what he found troubling were the accounts that are being reported now.”
The New York Times reported on Saturday that Trump has privately questioned — to a senator and, more recently, an adviser — the authenticity of the 2005 recording on which he bragged about groping and kissing women without their consent.
Trump is both visible and recognizable in the video, and he acknowledged in October 2016, after the recording was published, that he made the statements caught on tape.
“I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize,” he said at the time.
