Access Hollywood assures everyone the Donald Trump tape is 'very real.' Jordan Klepper tries gaslighting.

Natalie Morales and Jordan Klepper disagree on the Access Hollywood tape
(Image credit: Screenshots/Access Hollywood, Comedy Central)

On Saturday, The New York Times reported that President Trump has been privately suggesting since January that the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which he's heard bragging into a hot mic about kissing and grabbing women by their genitals, is actually a fake. On Monday, the report that Trump might be denying something he has already apologized for was met with disbelief on TV and with a shrug by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who said Trump has "already addressed it," and "we didn't have any updates on that."

On Monday night's Access Hollywood, host Natalie Morales wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page, reality-wise. "Let us make this perfectly clear — the tape is very real," she said. "Remember his excuse at the time was 'locker-room talk.' He said every one of those words."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.