The language in the now-infamous 2005 recording of Donald Trump boasting about his unwanted sexual advances toward women has been widely condemned as "lewd," "demeaning," and describing sexual assault.
To Melania Trump, however, it's just "boy talk."
The wife of the GOP nominee used that description as she came to her husband's defense in a rare televised sit-down that aired on CNN Monday night. In the interview — her first since the tape was published by The Washington Post earlier this month — she claims her husband was "egged on" to say "dirty and bad stuff" by Billy Bush, the then-Access Hollywood host whose role in the exchange has led to his exit at NBC's Today show.
"I said to my husband that, you know, the language is inappropriate. It's not acceptable. And I was surprised, because that is not the man that I know," she told Anderson Cooper in the interview.
While Melania Trump said she had accepted her husband's apology for his comments, which were made while they were married, she blamed the “left-wing media” for the release and subsequent fallout over the tape, saying, "everything was organized."
Melania Trump's latest comments were similar to the statement she released shortly after the recording was made public, saying the "unacceptable and offensive" exchange "does not represent the man that I know." The use of "boy talk" also echoes Donald Trump's own description of the language as "locker-room" banter.
But the tape also brought Trump's treatment of women under scrutiny yet again. At least a dozen women have come forward to accuse Trump of groping and other forms of sexual misconduct since the recording was released. Trump has denied most of the incidents and vowed to release evidence that disproves the claims "at an appropriate time."
Melania Trump joined her husband in dismissing those allegations, saying the women who have come forward "don't have any facts."
"I believe my husband," she said. "This was all organized by the opposition.”
She also downplayed the personal insults he's lobbed at the women accusing him of assault.
“That’s him. He’s raw. He will say it as he feels it," she said. “I know he respects women, but he is defending himself because they are lies."
The potential first lady also sat down for an interview with Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt. That interview is set to appear on Fox & Friends Tuesday morning. In that interview, Melania Trump defends her husband for responding with attacks highlighting claims against former President Bill Clinton, according to excerpts published by the Associated Press.
Ivanka Trump, the candidate's daughter and a key surrogate for female voters, has not yet spoken publicly about the tape or accusations of sexual assault.
Ivanka Trump, the candidate's daughter and a key surrogate for female voters, has not yet spoken publicly about the tape or accusations of sexual assault.