The Access Hollywood tape (Oct. 2016): Trump recorded bragging about grabbing women, apologized, and later reportedly questioned its authenticity

Case

On Oct. 7, 2016, weeks before the election, a 2005 recording surfaced in which Trump described pursuing a woman and said of women, 'Grab them by the p----.' He issued a video apology saying 'I said it. I was wrong. And I apologize' and attacked the Clintons, and Republican leaders including Reince Priebus, John McCain and Mitt Romney condemned the remarks. In Nov. 2017 the New York Times reported he had begun saying the voice on the tape was not his; Billy Bush wrote 'Of course he said it.'

The tape and the response
A 2005 recording, made on a bus several months after Trump married Melania, captured Trump describing attempts to pursue a woman and saying of women, 'Grab them by the p----'; it surfaced in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign (reported Oct. 7-8, 2016).
In a video apology Trump said the words 'don't reflect who I am,' 'I said it. I was wrong. And I apologize,' and then attacked the Clintons, accusing Bill Clinton of abusing women and Hillary Clinton of bullying his accusers.
Republicans including RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, John McCain, Mitt Romney, John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz condemned the comments; Hillary Clinton called them 'horrific.'
Trump, Melania Trump and campaign staff later dismissed the language as 'locker-room talk.'
After winning, Trump reportedly told a Republican senator 'We don't think that was my voice,' per the New York Times as relayed by WGBH, and kept suggesting the voice was not his.
Billy Bush, heard laughing on the tape and fired from NBC's Today show after its release, wrote in the Times 'Of course he said it.'

Perspectives

Defender — Donald Trump and his campaign
Trump said the words did not reflect who he is, that travels and campaign meetings had changed him, and that he pledged to be a better man; he and his campaign described the language as locker-room talk. He later reportedly questioned whether the voice on the tape was his.

Note
Trump apologized in 2016, he and his campaign called the language 'locker-room talk,' and in 2017 he reportedly suggested the voice was not his; Access Hollywood and Billy Bush say it is him.

Sources
[1] ABC7 — Trump on 2005 vulgar comments on women: 'I said it, I was wrong and I apologize' (https://abc7.com/post/trump-issues-apology-for-2005-vulgar-comments-on-women/1545309/) · 2016-10-08
[2] WGBH — Billy Bush: 'Of course it's Trump's voice' on Access Hollywood tape (https://www.wgbh.org/news/2017-12-04/billy-bush-of-course-its-trumps-voice-on-access-hollywood-tape) · 2017-12-04

Connections

Same actor — Allegations against Trump in the Epstein files, and the White House and DOJ responses (Dec. 2025-Feb. 2026)
Companion entry on documented statements and allegations concerning Trump and women.

Same actor — Denials in the face of documented facts: how Trump, his family, his businesses, the White House and the Pentagon have answered fraud and conflict-of-interest allegations (2017-2026)
Trump's later reported suggestion that the voice was not his fits the record of responses to documented facts.

Same actor — E. Jean Carroll v. Trump: civil verdicts finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation (2023-2026)
Companion entry on documented statements and a court finding concerning Trump and women.