White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders dodged multiple questions on Monday about whether President Trump has privately said that the infamous “Access Hollywood” recording of him is not authentic.
The New York Times reported over the weekend that Trump has privately told those close to him that the tape — in which he can be heard boasting about grabbing and taking advantage of women — might be a fake.
“The president addressed this, this was litigated and certainly answered during the election by the overwhelming support for the president and the fact he’s sitting here in the Oval Office today,” Sanders said Monday. “He’s made his position on that clear at that time, as have the American people in support of him.”
Trump apologized for his remarks on the tape shortly after its release, saying “I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.”
The 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape dropped about a month before the 2016 election. Trump issued a public apology for it at the time, describing the banter as “locker room talk.”
But Sanders on Monday would not answer questions asked whether Trump has since claimed that the tape could be fake.
“The president hasn’t changed his position,” Sanders said. “If anything the president questions, it’s the media’s reporting on that accuracy.”
Sanders would not say what media reports she was referring to.
“He’s already addressed it, and that we don’t have any updates to that,” Sanders said. “I said what he didn’t like and what he found troubling were the accounts that are being reported now.”
When asked what accounts Trump finds troubling, Sanders responded: “The ones he’s currently questioning.”