Donald Trump's Access Hollywood Tape Scandal Just Keeps Getting Messier

It's the infamous hot mic moment that continues to haunt Donald Trump. Many may remember the backlash the former U.S. president faced after a 2005 Access Hollywood interview resurfaced with him saying vulgar things about women. In the tape, Trump said, "You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet ... And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the p****." The businessman caught flack for his comments, and unfortunately for him, the tape has continued to live on.

According to NBC News, Trump is on trial for falsifying business records relating to his affair with Stormy Daniels, and the Access Hollywood clip has been brought to the forefront. Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, took the stand in court and confirmed things we suspected about Melania Trump. But the one thing we didn't expect was for Cohen to claim was that it was Melania who came up with the idea to refer to Donald's Access Hollywood tape as "locker room talk." According to The Hill, Cohen explained, "The spin he [Donald] wanted put on it was that this is locker room talk, something that Melania had recommended, or at least he told me that's what Melania had thought it was, and use that in order to get control over the story and to minimize its impact on him and his campaign." As if that wasn't surprising enough, there have been more details revealed about the Access Hollywood tape during Donald's criminal case.

Former White House aide Hope Hicks had a close relationship with Donald Trump. Hicks became someone Trump felt confident sharing his feelings with, even about controversial issues like the Access Hollywood tape.

During her testimony in Trump's criminal trial, Hicks divulged how the former U.S. president felt after the Access Hollywood clip resurfaced and how he was concerned about his wife, Melania Trump. According to PBS, she said, "President Trump really values Mrs. Trump's opinion and she doesn't weigh in all the time but when she does it's really meaningful to him." She continued, "He really, really respects what she has to say. I think he was really concerned about what the perception of this would be and yeah I know that was weighing on him." Some of the juiciest revelations from the witness stand have been about Donald and Melania's relationship, as Hicks' testimony showed that the political figure was concerned about what the former first lady would think about the tape.

Despite his worry, there was no avoiding the clip. It became major news, as Hicks recalled, "It was intense. It dominated coverage, I would say, for the 36 hours leading up to the debate." Some may remember that Donald apologized for his remarks in the Access Hollywood tape in 2016, but as we can see, the interview continues to follow him all the years later.