ABC/Heidi Gutman(NEW YORK) — Wednesday on Good Morning America, former Access Hollywood and Today personality Billy Bush broke his silence about a now-infamous recording of an older conversation between he and then-candidate Donald Trump, during which Trump described grabbing a woman’s genitals.
In an interview with Robin Roberts, a solemn Bush took responsibility for egging on what Trump later described as “locker-room banter.”
Bush described himself as someone who at the time was “insecure” and would do most anything to please a big star. “I should have known better, absolutely. There’s no question about that,” Bush said of the conversation, which began by him ogling a woman he and Trump were about to meet for a segment.
“People also say you should have stopped it,” Roberts noted, with Bush replying he “didn’t have the strength of character at the time to do that — I wish I did.”
Bush said he knew that Trump was being crude, but felt he was exaggerating when he joked that because he was famous, he could grab women as he wanted. “I’d like to think that there was a grown man sitting in front of me, detailing his sexual assault strategy, I would have called the FBI,” Bush said.
Bush said the blow-up also caused his daughter emotional pain. He also told Robin that he hopes to return to TV some day, but to do more “meaningful” work in the medium.
