Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, has insisted that her husband is a “gentleman” and that the women who allege that he assaulted them are lying.
Melania Trump also said that inappropriate remarks her husband made about women that were caught on videotape were unacceptable but did not represent the man she knows.
Donald Trump was guilty of “boy talk” but was “egged on” by TV host Billy Bush, she added.
The 2005 tape prompted dozens of Republicans to drop their support for Donald Trump.
In the video, Donald Trump tells Billy Bush, who was then host of NBC’s Access Hollywood, that he can force himself on women because he is a star.
Several women have since come forward and accused the Republican nominee of assault, which he denies.
“I know he respects women but he is defending himself because they are lies,” Donald Trump said in an interview with CNN.
Melania Trump said: “I believe my husband.
“My husband is kind and he is a gentleman and he would never do that.”
The former model claimed the scandal had been “organized and put together to hurt his candidacy” by Hillary Clinton’s campaign team and the media.
“With the details [the media] have got, did they ever check the backgrounds of these women? They didn’t have any facts,” Melania Trump added.
Speaking for the first since the scandal began Melania Trump defended her husband’s conduct with women, saying he had never behaved inappropriately over the years.
Women commonly approached her husband in front of her to give him their phone numbers and behave inappropriately, she said.
Reflecting on the 2005 Access Hollywood videotape leaked to the media 10 days ago, Melania Trump said: “I said to my husband that, you know, the language was inappropriate. It’s not acceptable.
“And I was surprised, because that is not the man that I know.”
After the taped comments became public, Melania Trump issued a statement saying she found the words he spoke to be offensive but she accepted his apology.
Now Melania Trump believes Billy Bush, who was fired by NBC over the tape, was the main culprit.
Donald Trump, his wife said, “was led on – like, egged on – from the host to say dirty and bad stuff”.
Melania Trump also justified her husband’s tactic of appearing with the women who have accused former President Bill Clinton of assault.
With three weeks to go before Americans cast their vote, polls show Donald Trump with considerable ground to make up on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in key battleground states.
