Jeffrey Caplan
One day after writing an editorial in the New York Times, Billy Bush appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” Monday night to hammer home the fact that President Donald Trump did indeed make those lewd comments about women heard on the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape.
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Bush, who lost his job on “TODAY” for his involvement with the 2005 conversation, in which Trump can be heard saying he grabs women by their genitals, told Colbert he’s become angry and frustrated after the New York Times reported that Trump has privately suggested that the tape is not authentic and that the voice on it is not his.
In his editorial, Bush wrote, “Of course he said it,” referring to Trump’s comments, and he echoed that when speaking to Colbert.
“He, last week, for some reason, came out with, ‘That’s not my voice on the tape,’” Bush told Colbert, before addressing Trump directly: “That is your voice. You were there. I was there. That’s your voice on the tape.”
“Enough’s enough,” Bush continued. “Stop playing around with people’s lives.”
Colbert played the “Access Hollywood” tape and told Bush that he wouldn’t even be on the show talking about this if Trump, who had initially apologized for tape when it came out one month prior to the 2016 presidential election and excused it as “locker room talk,” hadn’t made it news once again.
“It’s really the dumbest thing he could have done,” Colbert said to Bush, then adding, “He’s a dumb, dumb person.”
Bush noted that Trump’s reported denial is unfair to the women who came forward after the tape and accused Trump of sexual harassment.
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“You’re reopening wounds on them too,” Bush said. “Enough’s enough.”
Bush said initially he didn’t take Trump’s comments seriously, comparing him to a crass standup comic. But as he started reading allegations from numerous accusers, he concluded that it just wasn’t possible that so many women would come forward with similar tales, and that they would not be telling the truth.
“I said, 20 women don’t get together and say, ‘You know what would be really fun, let’s take down a powerful guy together.’ No, they don’t,” Bush told Colbert.
Bush told Colbert that part of his reaction was due to the fact that “everybody had to kiss the ring of Donald,” because his show “The Apprentice” was such a money-maker for NBC at the time.
“If I had thought there was a man detailing a sexual assault strategy to me, I would have contacted the FBI and not just brought it to the attention of my producers,” Bush said.
