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Trump's 'Access Hollywood' video playing on 12-hour loop at D.C.'s National Mall

 
A group played this 2005 tape of Donald Trump — seen with actress Arianne Zucker and Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush — on the Mall for 12 hours.
A group played this 2005 tape of Donald Trump — seen with actress Arianne Zucker and Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush — on the Mall for 12 hours.
Published Oct. 6, 2017

WASHINGTON — A women's advocacy group was playing the infamous and lewd Access Hollywood video of President Donald Trump on a large screen Friday on the Mall. On repeat. Again and Again. For 12 hours straight.

The demonstration came just before the anniversary of when the Washington Post released the explosive footage, which showed Trump in 2005 bragging in vulgar terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women. The previously unaired footage was released Oct. 8, 2016, when Trump was the Republican presidential nominee.

At one point in the video, Trump says, "Grab them by the p----" and "when you're a star, they let you do it."

UltraViolet, a group with the goal of fighting sexism, organized the demonstration. The group rented a truck and a screen measuring about 10-by-16 feet to air the footage — including sound and subtitles — in front of the Washington Monument. While viewing the screen from the monument grounds, the White House can be seen in the background.

"We wanted to play the tape on loop to remind the people who the president said he is — a proud sexual predator," said Emma Boorboor, a campaign director for UltraViolet.

The video began playing on loop about 9 a.m. Friday and was set to stop about 9 p.m.

Some tourists visiting the Mall stopped to watch the video Friday morning while some with children walked past it without stopping. One man questioned why the National Park Service permitted it.

Organizers said they received the necessary permits to host the demonstration. The Park Service didn't immediately return a request for comment.

Leon and Alisha Porter, who were visiting the nation's capital from Ohio, stopped briefly to watch the video. They said they thought it was "great" that the advocacy group was showing it so prominently.

"It's a good way to shed light on sexual harassment and sexual exploitation, especially in the shadows of George Washington's monument," Alisha Porter said.