Taking a rare public stance on the state of campaign discourse, Melania Trump, the wife of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, spoke out today, calling her husband's attacks on former President Bill Clinton a fair response to what the Democrats "started."
As the New York businessman continues to assail Hillary Clinton's husband on the campaign trail, Melania Trump was asked in an interview with Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt if Bill Clinton's past alleged behavior was relevant.
"They're asking for it," Melania Trump said.
"They started from the beginning of the campaign putting my picture from modeling days," she added, accusing the Clinton campaign of disseminating her nude photos.
In August, The New York Post dug up and published racy photos of Melania Trump when she first came to the U.S. to model. During the GOP primaries, the anti-Trump super PAC Make America Awesome used her nude GQ cover to try to sway Mormon voters in Utah to cast their ballots for Sen. Ted Cruz. There's no evidence that the Clinton campaign shared these photos.
As part of the Fox News interview, as well as one with CNN's Anderson Cooper that also aired tonight, Melania Trump talked about the 2005 recording in which her husband is heard bragging about groping women and making vulgar comments.
In the CNN interview, Melania Trump said she thought former "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush, who is also heard in the 2005 video, was encouraging of Donald Trump's behavior.
"He was egged on from the host to say dirty and bad stuff," she said.
"I wonder if they even knew the mic was on because it was kind of boy talk," she said, going on to explain such talk as "the way they talk when they grow up." Donald Trump was 59 years old when the tape was recorded.
She said that though she did not recognize the language used by her husband on the recording -- making a point to note that he does not speak like that regularly -- but then did note that "sometimes I said I have two boys at home: I have my young son and I have my husband," she said referencing the couple's 10-year-old son Barron.
Melania Trump said her husband's remarks were "offensive" and "inappropriate" but that after her husband apologized, the two of them are "moving on," though they expected that some tapes would come out.
"He did so many stuff in his life, he was on so many tapes, on so many shows, and we know that -- that tapes will come out," she said.
Melania Trump said that she believes that he never did the acts he described on the tape, which many critics say are sexual assault; she does not agree with that description.
"No that's not sexual assault. He didn't say he did it," she said.
"Every assault should be taken care of in a court of law but to accuse, without evidence ... it's damaging and it's unfair," she told CNN.