Melania Trump says her husband was 'egged on' into 'boy talk'

Melania Trump has forgiven her husband for the "boy talk" he engaged in with Access Hollywood's Billy Bush in 2005, and she wants the rest of America to do the same.

"It was many, many years ago," she told CNN's Anderson Cooper in an interview airing Monday. "He's not the man that I know." Earlier this month, The Washington Post and other media organizations published a video featuring Donald Trump and Bush engaged in conversation, with Trump making crude comments about women and bragging about groping and kissing women without their consent. Melania Trump said she was "surprised" by the words her husband used, but he was "egged on from the host to say dirty and bad stuff" and making "boy talk" with Bush. Cooper helpfully pointed out that Trump was 59 at the time of the incident.

In the wake of the tape's release, several women have come forward and accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, and Melania Trump said they were "all organized from the opposition. Did they ever check the background of these women? They don't have any facts." She said she believes "every assault should be taken care of in a court of law," but to accuse anyone "without evidence is damaging and unfair." Like him or not, Donald Trump is "real," Melania Trump said. "He's raw. He tells it like it is. He's kind. He's a gentleman. He supports everybody. He supports women. He encourages them to go to the highest level, to achieve their dreams." Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.