UPDATE 7:35 p.m. ET: Ivanka Trump broke her social media silence on Sunday night. She shared an Instagram photo from St. Louis, where the second 2016 presidential debate will be held, indicating that she will be in attendance.
Original story below:
Melania Trump refused to do a joint TV appearance with her husband, Donald, after his sexist 2005 video leaked online on Friday, October 7, according to The New York Times.
The news outlet reported on Sunday, October 9, that the 70-year-old Republican presidential candidate’s advisers considered having him do a joint interview with Melania, 46, on a major network to address his shocking comments. The appearance would have echoed that of Bill and Hillary Clinton‘s 1992 interview on 60 Minutes in response to Gennifer Flowers‘ claims that she had an affair with the then-president.
According to the Times, deliberations for the Trumps’ TV interview “were moving ahead” despite Melania’s “lack of interest in appearing on camera.”
However, that plan changed after Nancy O’Dell, the former Access Hollywood host who Donald bragged about trying to “f‑‑k” in the 2005 audio, released a statement on Saturday, October 8, slamming his remarks.
“Politics aside, I’m saddened that these comments still exist in our society at all,” she said in a statement posted by Entertainment Tonight. “When I heard the comments yesterday, it was disappointing to hear such objectification of women.… As a woman who has worked very hard to establish her career, and as a mom, I feel I must speak out with the hope that as a society, we will always strive to be better.”
That statement, in addition to leaked tapes of Donald’s 2004 interview with Howard Stern that included more sexist comments, apparently quashed the possibility of a joint interview. According to The New York Times, discussions “were quickly dropped” after O’Dell’s denouncement.
Melania released a statement on Saturday, calling the former reality TV star’s comments in the video “unacceptable and offensive.”
The Times also reported that several members of Donald’s circle met with him at Trump Tower in New York City Saturday to “figure out how to undo the damage” of the tapes. Son Donald Jr., New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Preibus and daughter Ivanka‘s husband, Jared Kushner, were reportedly among those who visited with Donald. Ivanka, however, did not attend and has yet to publicly acknowledge her father’s lewd comments.
As Us Weekly previously reported, the real estate mogul was caught on a hot microphone bragging about hitting on a married woman and grabbing beautiful women “by the p‑‑sy” during a chat with O’Dell’s former Access Hollywood cohost Billy Bush.
Donald apologized for his comments early Saturday morning in a video, claiming his remarks were merely “locker room banter.”
