Conservative media personality Sean Hannity, who has stuck by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump through thick and thin as the latter waded through a growing series of scandals this year, offered an almost satirical defense of his friend in the wake of the release of a video from 2005 featuring Trump bragging about groping women.
"I'm automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them, it's like a magnet," Trump says in the video. "Just kiss. I don't even wait ... When you're a star, [women] let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."
Hannity turned to the Bible for answers on the Oct. 7 edition of his show, favorably comparing the real estate billionaire to Hebrew King David, who Hannity said "had 500 concubines for crying out loud!"
Elsewhere in the show, Hannity admitted the candidate's comments were misogynistic but repeatedly changed the subject to former President Bill Clinton, who Mediaite reported the host invoked as an example of someone Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton should condemn for their behavior well before Trump.
Guest Gina Louden also told Hannity most men have made similar comments and proposed another defense Hannity seized upon — that the Clintons' "actions" were worse than Trump's "words," noted progressive group Media Matters.
"And then when you hold that up and look at what Hillary Clinton has done — look in Mr. Trump's case, in the entire record of his life," Louden said. "Sean, no one was raped, nobody has died, no illegal servers were put in his — I mean, the list goes on."
"So all of these people saying 'Hannity, you've got to condemn Trump,' alright, his words were wrong, but Bill Clinton's actions are far worse," Hannity agreed.
Hannity and Louden are incorrect, however, that no one has accused Trump of serious sexual misconduct.
Numerous women have come forward to detail allegations of unwanted sexual misconduct involving Trump, including Temple Taggart, who said the real estate billionaire kissed her the first time she met him; an unnamed woman who told CNN Trump kissed her without permission; and Jill Harth, who said Trump groped her in 1992 and 1993.