Steve Bannon: ‘Access Hollywood’ tape cost Chris Christie a Cabinet post
A meeting about the fallout to Donald Trump‘s presidential campaign over the “Access Hollywood” tape was a litmus test that cost New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie a potential Cabinet post, according to former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. Bannon, speaking in a “60 Minutes” interview that will air Sunday on CBS, said the “Billy Bush Saturday, to me, is a litmus test.” Bannon, Christie and then-Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus met with Trump in October on the weekend after the Washington Post obtained the 2005 video that showed Trump talking with “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women who were not his wife. “Billy Bush Saturday showed me who really had Donald Trump’s back to play to his better angels,” Bannon said. “All you had to do, and what he did, was go out and continue to talk to the American people. People didn’t care. They knew Donald Trump was just doing locker room talk with a guy. And they dismissed it.” It was not clear from the video clip what Christie had advised Trump. But Bannon said he told Christie, “The plane leaves at 11 o’clock in the morning. If you’re on the plane, you’re on the team. Didn’t make the plane.” Days later, Christie appeared on a New York radio program and denounced Trump’s comments about women on the leaked tape. “Let’s be really clear. It is completely indefensible,” the Republican governor said. “I made that very clear to Donald on Friday when this first came out and, you know, urged him to be contrite and apologetic because that’s what he needs to be.” Christie, who was among Trump’s earliest supporters, was booted as head of the transition days after Trump’s victory. Christie was soon passed over for top administration positions, including attorney general, though he also turned down several jobs as well, according to a person with knowledge of Christie’s decision who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Christie’s spokesman Brian Murray said Friday that Christie had been offered several positions in the Trump administration. “As has been widely reported, the Governor had been offered multiple cabinet positions in addition to other senior posts in the White House and elsewhere. He chose to stay as Governor and complete his term. Any assertion to the contrary is simply factually incorrect,” Murray said. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Billy Bush lawyer: Bush risked firing if he rebuked Donald Trump
An attorney for Billy Bush is defending the TV personality’s part in a lewd 2005 exchange with Donald Trump. Marshall Grossman told The Hollywood Reporter that Bush would have been fired from his then-job with “Access Hollywood” if he’d been passive or told Trump to shut up. Grossman noted Bush was a NBC Universal employee talking with NBC’s “The Apprentice” star. The attorney, who was quoted by the trade paper online Thursday, declined comment when reached by phone. Bush, who joined NBC News’ “Today” as a co-host in recent months, was suspended after the tape became public last week. NBC is said to be privately negotiating his exit. Both NBC and “Access Hollywood” declined to comment on the report. A publicist for Bush didn’t immediately respond when asked for comment. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Red State says boot Donald Trump apologist Jeff Sessions from Judiciary Committee
For continuing to back Donald Trump, Jeff Sessions must be removed from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Caleb Howe of the conservative blog Red State, is calling for Sessions’ ouster, says the Alabama senator “can’t, or won’t, properly and accurately define sexual assault,” because he is too “committed to the cause” of supporting Trump at all costs. What the Republican presidential nominee described in the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape was sexual assault — as a “factual matter of law.” And since Sessions refuses to admit that simple fact, Howe says “he should not be on the judiciary committee and should step down or be removed immediately.” Howe is not the only one taking that position. Ultraviolet Action, which Howe describes as a “leftist feminist group” that exclusively targets Republicans and conservatives “opposed to women,” has begun a petition to remove Sessions, garnering 32,000-plus signatures as of Thursday. The group calls Sessions’ words “a clear part of the ‘War on Women’ narrative.” “On this,” Howe writes, “they are correct.” In an interview with Jim Jamitis of The Weekly Standard, Sessions admits it was “very improper language,” and that Trump “acknowledged that.” However, Sessions does not characterize the behavior described in the video as sexual assault, if that behavior — grabbing a woman by the genitals — should actually take place. “Think that’s a stretch,” Sessions said. “I don’t know what he meant … I don’t know. It’s not clear that he — how that would occur.” As for those excusing Trump’s words, some suggest “all women want it” because of the popularity of books like “50 Shades of Grey,” which was made into a movie. “Just to be clear,” Howe writes, “a man going up and grabbing a woman by the crotch is sexual assault. Just because the assaulter claims ‘she wanted it because I’m famous’ does not make it consensual. That is stupid and you are a stupid person if you say that.” “And Jeff Sessions is stupid,” he adds. “Or a liar.” Both Trump and Sessions are giving fodder to the leftist “War on Women” by “acting exactly as despicably as the caricature such groups have created.” These actions are hurting all Republicans, Howe says, “especially Sessions, who at least had some credibility before now.” “Kick Sessions out,” he concludes. “Do it now.”
Unlike first, second debate doesn’t set viewership record
An estimated 66.5 million people watched the second debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, down from the record-setting audience who saw their first match but on par with the Obama-Romney contests four years ago. The first debate reached a total of 84 million viewers, more than for any other presidential debate on record, the Nielsen company said on Monday. The previous record of 80.6 million had been set for the only debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in 1980. In 2012, an estimated 65.6 million people watched the second debate between President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, after 67.2 million saw their first debate. On Sunday, the two candidates were competing against the NFL’s prime-time contest between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants, which was seen by 16.6 million people on NBC. A football game aired opposite the first debate, too, but it was on cable’s ESPN and reached only 8 million people. Sunday’s debate, moderated tightly by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, was dominated early by questions surrounding Trump’s lewd conversation with Billy Bush in a recently resurfaced “Access Hollywood” outtake. In another clip getting wide airplay on Monday, Trump tells Clinton that “you’d be in jail” if he were elected. Raddatz on Monday said she could feel the tension in the room from the start. “When they came together at the beginning and didn’t shake hands, you knew you were in for a long evening,” she said on “Good Morning America” on Monday. The candidates shook hands at the end, following a disarming question from an audience member, who asked each candidate if they could think of one thing positive to say about the other. Raddatz and Cooper received generally good reviews for their sharp questioning and attempts to keep the candidates in line. Trump complained at times about not being treated fairly. At one point, when Trump objected to the Obama administration signaling in advance about an attack on ISIS positions in Iraq, Raddatz interjected with possible reasons for this tactic, including warning civilians to get out of harm’s way. CBS withdrawal from the political competition. CNN had 11.2 million viewers and Fox News Channel had 9.9 million, essentially flip-flopping their positions from the first debate. While that may be a reflection of a CNN personality serving as a moderator Sunday, it may also be an ominous sign of growing disinterest in the contest among Fox’s Republican-dominated fan base. A Fox personality, Chris Wallace, moderates the scheduled third and final debate Oct. 19. Republish with permission of the Associated Press.
