"I don't think you understood what was said. This was locker room talk. I'm not proud of it. I apologized to my family. I apologized to the American people. Certainly, I'm not proud of it, but this is locker room talk."
—Donald Trump
Why it stinks: The fact that a presidential candidate excused away his past sexist, demeaning comments that suggested he could get away with sexual assault as mere "locker room talk" not once but four times in a presidential debate is not only reprehensible but unacceptable. Trump apologized for his 2005 remarks but immediately followed up by dismissing his comments as "locker room talk," which he apparently believes is an acceptable form of communication among men. Well, his comments are not acceptable, and they both admit and excuse sexual assault. It's not acceptable in any sense of the word, and to go a bit deeper, the old adage "What you say about others says a lot about you" seems appropriate here. Apologies aside, the fact that Trump managed to couch his and Billy Bush's horrifying comments as innocent "locker-room talk" proves the same sexist, objectifying sentiments remain—and that reeks.
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