Add NBC to the list of people and organizations that Donald Trump may sue after the election.
During a Thursday night interview on Fox’s “O’Reilly Factor,” the Republican nominee said that it was “illegal” for NBC to release the “Access Hollywood” tape in which he bragged about groping women and that he may take legal action against the network.
“Do you believe you would be ahead if not for the ‘Access Hollywood’ stuff?” host Bill O’Reilly asked.
“I just don’t know,” Trump mused. “I think it was very negative. It was locker room talk. The microphone was not supposed to be on. Not that I make that an excuse for myself, but, certainly, it was an illegal act.”
“You think it was illegal what they did, putting that tape out?” O’Reilly asked.
“Oh absolutely,” he replied. “No, that was a private dressing room. Yeah. That was, certainly.”
Trump’s comments were actually caught on a hot mic as he traveled by bus with host Billy Bush to the set of “Days of Our Lives.”
“Are you going to take any action after the election against NBC?” O’Reilly pressed.
“You’ll see. You’ll see,” Trump said, adding that his comments, while they “shouldn’t have been said,” were just “locker room talk.”
The tape was first published by the Washington Post after the newspaper received a leaked copy. NBC also planned to air the clip but was scooped by the Post as network executives deliberated over how to handle the footage, CNN reported.
In another Thursday interview about the tape on EWTN Global Catholic Network, Trump said the microphones “should never have been on.”
Asked if he had changed in the eleven years since the tape was recorded, as many of his surrogates have claimed, Trump instead told EWTN that the comments were “just one of those things” and said he already apologized.
The Republican nominee has a reputation for threatening lawsuits when he feels wronged. Earlier this month, he said he was preparing to sue The New York Times for publishing accounts from two women who accused them of groping or kissing them without consent. The lawsuit has not yet materialized.
Trump also vowed to sue all of the “liars” who have accused him of sexual misconduct after the election is over.
