St. Louis voters weigh in on "disgusting" Trump tape
In the aftermath of the release of the now-infamous 2005 tape of Donald Trump’s lewd remarks about women, Republican leaders have had no shortage of harsh words for the GOP nominee.
But what do voters think?
A focus group of voters in St. Louis, Mo., told CBS “Face the Nation” moderator John Dickerson Saturday that the tape was terrible, but many said they didn’t think it would change things in the race.
“Disheartening,” “disgusting” and “not surprising” were some of the words they used to describe the video.
“The comments were very disgusting,” one woman said. “I mean, nothing Trump says makes me feel like maybe I could get used to this guy.”
Still, one woman described it as “locker room talk”—and said former President Bill Clinton is no better than Trump when it comes to talking about and acting toward women.
“I also think of locker room talk,” she said. “When I first heard it, first thing I thought of, well, isn’t Bill Clinton the same type of man?”
As for Hillary Clinton’s suggestion in a closed-door Wall Street speech that there’s a “public position” and a “private position” on issues to get things done, voters in the focus group were split as to whether this is a problem for her.
“I think it’s just the reality of kind of how the sausage gets made,” one man said.
Another responded that it is a “form of lying” and a “tool for corruption.”
“Frankly, I think if Hillary Clinton were to do everything that she has said she would do in the campaign, really fighting climate change, really fighting against money in politics, she would 100% have my vote,” he continued. “But it’s what she says behind closed doors … that I don’t trust her to do that.”
Will these voters be watching Sunday night’s debate between Clinton and Trump? Most said they would, but didn’t have high expectations for what they’d see when they tune in.
“I think I’m going to feel a little uncomfortable, given the video that was just released, for Hillary,” one woman said. “...Because what he says about women, I can’t respect a man like that.”
Another man put it this way: “I’m just looking to see who fails more, not who comes out ahead.”