President Barack Obama found GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s 2005 remarks in which he boasted of sexual assault “repugnant,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday.
Earnest was asked about the tape during a briefing with reporters.
“The president found the tape as repugnant as most Americans did,” Earnest said, according to a pool report.
The press secretary said Obama agrees with Vice President Joe Biden’s assessment that Trump’s comments constitute sexual assault.
The video, published by The Washington Post on Friday, has upended the presidential election and prompted many Republicans to drop their support for Trump. While Trump issued a video apology several hours after the tape first leaked, he has repeatedly brushed off his comments as “locker room talk.”
Obama indirectly addressed the Trump video at a campaign rally in Chicago for Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who’s running for a Senate seat.
“One of the most disturbing things about this election is just the unbelievable rhetoric coming from the top of the Republican ticket,” Obama said on Sunday. “I don’t need to repeat it; there are children in the room.”
Obama continued: “It tells you he’s insecure enough that he pumps himself up by putting other people down ― not a character trait that I would advise for somebody in the Oval Office. It tells you that he doesn’t care much about the basic values that we try to impart to our kids.”
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