The Washington Times: Donald Trump’s political mettle is being tested once again, this time over lewd remarks he made about women over a decade ago that has led some Republicans to call on him to pull the plug on a campaign that has rattled the political establishment in Washington, attracted millions of working-class voters and divided the GOP.
Buried in negative headlines 31 days out from the election, Mr. Trump scrambled Saturday to stop the bleeding as he prepared for his second debate against Hillary Clinton Sunday in St. Louis.
The town hall-style showdown was already being billed as a do-or-die moment for Mr. Trump before recordings surfaced of him in 2005 bragging about trying to have sex with a married woman and opining about how women will let him do anything to them — even “grab them by the p—y” — because of his celebrity status.
“I never said I’m a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that I’m not,” Mr. Trump said in a video posted online early Saturday morning. “I’ve said and done thing i regret and the words released today on this more than decade old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me know these words don’t reflect who I am.”
He also struck a defiant note, saying that he would not withdraw from the race and that whatever he said pales in comparison to what former President Bill Clinton has done to women, and how Hillary Clinton has treated those women.
The apology was too little too late for some Republicans — in particular those that were either part of the “NeverTrump” movement or that reluctantly embraced him after he won the nomination or in competitive congressional races, where candidates have grown increasingly concerned he is becoming a drag on their campaigns.
