Melania Trump defended her husband in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper that aired Monday night.
Melania said she was “surprised” by the language her husband used because she had never heard him speak like that before. She also said she believed he was “egged on” by Billy Bush to say “dirty and bad stuff.”
Melania Trump: Billy Bush egged on her husband when he made sexually aggressive remarks https://t.co/PycIdlphsI https://t.co/VCbYK9I4Vw
— CNN (@CNN) October 18, 2016
“I said to my husband the language is inappropriate, it’s not acceptable,” she told Cooper. “And I was surprised because that is not the man that I know.”
Melania Trump on 2005 tape: "That is not the man that I know" https://t.co/03Lgp6TzH7 https://t.co/RGr0EKSCF1
— CNN (@CNN) October 18, 2016
And when Cooper brought up the allegations of unwanted sexual advances, Melania replied, “He’s not the man, he’s not the man that would do that.”
She said during the interview that she believes him in part because of all the times she’s seen him reject brazen advances from other women.
"I see many, many women coming to him and giving phone numbers and, you know, want(ing) to work for him -- inappropriate stuff from women. And they know he's married," she said.
"You've seen that?" Cooper asked.
"Oh yes, of course. It was in front of me," Trump said. "In front of me. And I've said, like, 'Why did you give your number to my husband?'"
One thing Melania said she wasn’t surprised about was the timing of the release. “Why now, why after so many years, why three weeks before the election?” she asked rhetorically before pinning the blame on the media.
Melania Trump blames left wing media for the release of the 2005 tape: "I was not surprised that the tape came out" https://t.co/biV9HbpHfB
— CNN (@CNN) October 18, 2016
"It was the media. It was NBC. It was Access Hollywood," she added. "It was left wing and left-wing media. You could see that. Everything was organized. Every Friday something comes out," she said, noting later in the interview that she believes the media and the Clintons are working together to bring her husband down.
But Melania told Cooper that her husband was prepared for his transition into politics to be more challenging given the many controversial remarks he’s made over the years as an entertainer.
Melania Trump: "My husband is real. He's raw. He tells it like it is." https://t.co/jCqPPkzP78 https://t.co/bxwO5s2wMX
— CNN (@CNN) October 18, 2016
"It's very hard, especially for him -- when he decided to run for the presidency, because he did so many stuff in his life. He was on so many tapes, so many shows. And we knew that -- that, you know, tapes will come out, people won't want to go against him.
"But my husband is real. He's raw. He tells it like it is. He's kind. He's a gentleman. He supports everybody. He supports women. He encourages them to go to the highest level, to achieve their dreams. He employs many, many women," she said.
One thing she doesn’t want from the American people is sympathy.
"I'm very strong. And people -- they don't really know me. People think and talk about me like, 'Oh, Melania, oh poor Melania,'" she said.
"Don't feel sorry for me. Don't feel sorry for me. I can handle everything," she added.