White House defends Trump against past sexual misconduct allegations by saying he hasn't admitted doing anything wrong
Following an outpouring of sexual harassment and assault allegations made across industries and professions over the past several weeks, many critics of President Trump have returned to accusations of misconduct made against him by more than a dozen women during his presidential campaign. On Friday, though, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made a distinction between the commander in chief and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), who was accused Thursday of kissing and groping a woman for the camera in 2006.
"I think specifically in one case, Sen. Al Franken has admitted wrongdoing and the president hasn't," Sanders told the reporters. "I think that's a very clear distinction."
It isn't, strictly speaking, entirely true: Trump was caught on tape making vulgar comments about women and bragging about groping and kissing them without consent, telling Access Hollywood's Billy Bush in 2005: "When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything ... grab them by the pussy." Watch Sanders' defense below. Jeva Lange
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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