The former “Access Hollywood” anchor addressed the infamous footage of him and Donald Trump on a bus in 2005.
The clip has resurfaced due to Trump denying that it was actually his voice. Billy was outraged that Trump would say such a thing:
“You don’t get to say that [speaking about Trump]…because I was there and the last 14 months of my life I have been dealing with it and you dealt with it for 14 minutes and went on to… be the president.”
The interview is filled with Bush firing shots at the president while recounting what it was like for him shortly after the tape leaked:
“The very day that he was swearing in to become the 45th president of the United States, I was checking into this soul-searching retreat in St. Helena, California…” Bush adds, “I passed the television in the office when I was checking in and he’s got the hand up and I’m going into my little cabin.”
Bush goes on to mention the women who accused Trump of sexual assault harassment. Bush recalls that he didn’t fully read the article that included all of the accounts because it had come out close to the time he was fired and he was distracted. However, once Trump denied that it was his voice, Bush finished the stories. He believes that through his denial, Trump has “reopened the wounds” of these poor women.
The former anchor also revealed that when Trump was talking about women in the ways he did, Bush thought he was doing it for laughs, sort of like a stand-up act, and he didn’t think Trump was being serious. Bush says if he thought he was actually hearing about incidences of sexual assault, he would have “called the FBI and not just reported it to [his] executive producer.”
In his op-ed piece (linked below), Bush describes how both him and Trump were part of NBC at the time and he had to “kiss the ring” to the huge money-maker that was Trump. Still, this doesn’t excuse the fact that he was playing along, but it gives a reason as to why he might have done it.
This interview took a bit of an interesting turn when Colbert asked Bush about Matt Lauer. Of course, Bush had worked for the Today Show also. Colbert goes on to say:
“Matt Lauer controlled that show… he could have protected anybody and he did famously protect people from being fired on that show…”
Then, Bush admits that him and Lauer actually had that conversation, and that Lauer “went privately to the bosses” at NBC and did all he could to save Bush’s job. The irony is incredible.
The crazy part of this story is how the two men ended up: one was fired, and one became president. With all of the accusations coming out lately, what Bush did seems far less horrible, even though it was wrong. Some of what Bush says is promising with regards to his comments about believing women in their accusations. The Lauer connection shows a really disturbing side to Hollywood and how powerful one rich man can be.
Here’s the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvcIeSfaB3c&t=0s
Billy Bush’s op-ed piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/03/opinion/billy-bush-trump-access-hollywood-tape.html