Rudy Giuliani has been tasked with the nearly impossible job of smoothing over the political crisis that erupted when the Washington Post published tapes on Friday of Donald Trump bragging about his ability to sexually assault women because he's famous. On Sunday, Giuliani was forced to make the rounds on morning news shows in the stead of Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, who canceled all of their Sunday morning news appearances.
He's not having such a hot morning, likely because there isn't an excuse for justifying sexual assault.
"[Trump] is talking about actions that are sexual assault," CNN's Jake Tapper says during his interview with Giuliani. "He was 59, 60 years old when he said it; this wasn't something he said when he was 18 years old. He's talking about a feeling of entitlement because he's a star—that he can go up to women and grab them by the vagina and it's ok, he won't get in trouble for it. It's really offensive on just a basic human level. Who did he do that to?"
Giuliani defends the comments by invoking the Bible and claiming that he "doesn't think" Trump has actually assaulted anyone, so it's fine.
"It's talk, and, gosh almighty, he who hasn't sinned throw the first stone here. I know some of these people trying to, uh, dropping their support–" says Giuliani before Tapper cuts him off by "gladly tell[ing]" the former New York City mayor that Tapper "has never said that, never done that. I'm happy to throw a stone."
That line of attack appears to be the campaign's main message moving forward. In the midst of Giuliani's appearances, The Donald tweeted this:
"I don't know any man—I've been in locker rooms, I've been a member of a fraternity. I have never heard any man, ever, brag about being able to maul women because they get away with it. Never," Tapper says.
Giuliani' then informs Tapper that "men, at times, talk like that. Not all men, but [some] men do." Tapper, who is not having any of Giuliani's "not all men" hot take, asks him if he's "talked like that."
"I'm not justifying it," Giuliani replies. "It's wrong. I know he believes it's wrong."
If possible, Giuliani fared worse on MSNBC. To deflect attention from the Trump tapes, Giuliani circles back to Hillary Clinton's leaked speech transcripts, which illustrate she is not completely hostile to Wall Street. Giuliani claims it's telling that Clinton privately reassures bankers she's willing to work with them, and that it indicates she has more sinister motives.
Chuck Todd takes the opportunity to brutally point out that Trump's comments about grabbing women were also made in private, and asks Giuliani why Clinton's private comments speak to her character, but Trump's don't. You can watch the exchange—and several painful seconds of Giuliani incoherently sputtering—below.
In case you are wondering, yes, Giuliani has a daughter, and yes, his daughter is voting for Hillary Clinton.
