Trump: It's Just 'Locker Room Talk'

It took no time at all for Donald Trump's hot mic scandal to surface at Sunday night's debate—a nasty affair that got underway without a traditional handshake. Trump flatly rejected the suggestion that his comments amounted to a description of "sexual assault," in the words of debate moderator Anderson Cooper. It was merely "locker room talk," he insisted. "Nobody has more respect for women than I do." At another point, he tried to transition into another topic: “I’m very embarrassed by it,” Trump said of the tape. “I will knock the hell out of ISIS.” Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, said his comments made clear that he is unfit for the presidency because they fit a pattern of disrespecting women. "It represents exactly who he is," she said, as quoted by Politico.

"But it's not only women, and it's not only this video that raises questions about his fitness to be our president, because he has also targeted immigrants, African-Americans, Latinos, people with disabilities, POWs, Muslims, and so many others." After she spoke, he responded, "It's just words folks, it's just words." In comparison, he went on to assert that Bill Clinton was "abusive to women," worse than any politician in history. Prior to the debate, he hosted a forum with Bill Clinton's accusers, and those same women appeared at the debate. In reference to them, Trump said that Hillary Clinton should be "ashamed" of how she attempted to discredit the women when she was first lady. Clinton didn't respond directly to that allegation and suggested Trump was generally spouting lies. She quoted first lady Michelle Obama in saying, "When they go low, you go high." (More presidential debate stories.)