Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) went on MSNBC's All In With Chris Hayes on Tuesday to advocate for Donald Trump, and he probably wishes he hadn't. When the discussion turned to the 11-year-old recording of Donald Trump boasting into a live mic about how he likes to kiss and grope attractive women, Hayes asked Farenthold "if someone off the record in a locker room — this was not in a locker room, it was workplace — said, 'I really like raping women,' would that be locker room talk?" Farenthold said it depends, "you don't know the entire context of this, but I'm not going to defend Donald Trump on this, I don't, I don't like what he said, and Donald Trump can defend himself."
Hayes cut in, asking, "If a tape came out with Donald Trump saying that, saying 'I really like to rape women,' you would continue to endorse him.'" "Again, it would— I'd— that would be bad," Farenthold answered, "and I would have to consider, I'd consider it."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Road trip: New England’s maple syrup seasonFeature New England is serving up maple syrup in delicious and unexpected ways
-
Music Reviews: Mdou Moctar, Panda Bear, and Tate McRaeFeature “Tears of Injustice,” “Sinister Grift,” and “So Close to What”
-
What's at stake in the Mahmoud Khalil deportation fight?Talking Points Vague accusations and First Amendment concerns
-
Trump hawks Teslas, slashes more federal jobsSpeed Read The Education Department cut its workforce in half ahead of an expected Trump order to shutter the agency
-
Ukraine agrees to ceasefire, ending US aid freezeSpeed Read Kyiv made peace with the Trump administration by agreeing to an immediate ceasefire in its war against Russian invaders
-
ICE arrests Palestinian advocate with green cardSpeed Read Recent Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil has had his visa revoked, despite his status as a permanent resident
-
Trump doesn't rule out recession as tariffs biteSpeed Read In an interview for Fox News, Trump acknowledges the economic turbulence caused by his tariffs but claims his policies will be worth it in the long run
-
Mark Carney selected next Canadian prime ministerSpeed Read The political novice will succeed outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
-
Trump eases Mexico, Canada tariffs again as markets slidespeed read The president suspended some of the 25% tariffs he imposed on Mexican and Canadian imports
-
Trump tells Cabinet they are in charge of layoffs, not MuskSpeed Read The White House has faced mounting complaints about DOGE's sweeping cuts
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining HouseSpeed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
