Trump apologized early Saturday for lewd language he used about groping and kissing women in a 2005 video. The release of the footage has rocked his campaign and drawn condemnation from members of his own political party.

"I've said and done things I regret," Trump said in a video statement posted to Twitter. "Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize."

Fellow Republicans have denounced the candidate's language. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the party's top Republican elected official, said he was "sickened" by the comments and cancelled a campaign event in Wisconsin with Trump on Saturday.

Reince Preibus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said: "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever."

The two previous Republican presidential nominees also condemned Trump's comments. The 2012 candidate Mitt Romney tweeted that they "corrupt America's face to world," while the 2008 nominee Senator John McCain said, "There are no excuses for Donald Trump's offensive and demeaning comments."

Calls within GOP for Trump's resignation

Key figures within the Republican party have gone as far as calling for Trump to drop out of the presidential race altogether.

The Republican Senator for Utah, Mike Lee, called Trump a "distraction," and urged him to "Step down, allow someone else to carry the banner of these principles... rather than weighing down the American people."

Meanwhile, the Republican Representative for Utah, Jason Chaffetz, told CNN that he was retracting his endorsement because he would not be able to look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye if he voted for Trump.

Barbara Comstock, the GOP Representative for Virginia, said "this type of obscene behavior is unbecoming of anybody seeking high office" and that "Trump should step aside and allow our party to replace him with Mike Pence or another appropriate nominee from the Republican Party."

Trump apologizes

The statement amounts to the first full public apology that Trump has made during the presidential campaign, which has been laced with insults and rhetoric. In the 2005 video, the billionaire real estate mogul turned reality TV star is heard using predatory language as he describes hitting on a married woman and grabbing women's crotches.

"When you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything," he says in the video.

The damning video was posted Friday by "The Washington Post" newspaper and television broadcaster NBC News. In the video, Trump brags about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women who were not his wife.

In a brief written statement released prior to his video apology, Trump had attempted to shrug off the leaked tape as "locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago."

"Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course - not even close. I apologize if anyone was offended," he had written, though it failed to contain the media conflagration that followed.

The footage taped by the "Access Hollywood" television program was recorded during a bus ride while Trump was on his way to tape an episode of the soap opera "Days of Our Lives."

Hotels, resorts and a big ego New luxury in a historic landmark The site of the new Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC is known as the Old Post Office and Clock Tower. The historic landmark on Pennsylvania Avenue was built in 1899 and stands near the halfway point between the White House and the Capitol.

Hotels, resorts and a big ego Prime property in famous buildings Piercing through the San Francisco fog, this brownish office tower is of one of the city's well-known buildings. Situated at 555 California Street and built in 1969, the high-rise used to house the headquarters of the Bank of America. It was the tallest building on the West Coast until the Transamerica Pyramid was completed in 1972.

Hotels, resorts and a big ego Golfing with a view Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles is situated on the Pacific coast in Rancho Palos Verdes, just a 30 minute drive from downtown LA. It is not only used for golfing but also as a film and photo location for movies and commercials.

Hotels, resorts and a big ego Trump just loves real estate "It's tangible, it's solid, it's beautiful. It's artistic, from my standpoint, and I just love real estate," Donald Trump wrote in one of his posts on Twitter. But his business empire contains more than luxury hotels, golf resorts and high-rise office buildings.

Hotels, resorts and a big ego Empire and Success Trump's merchandise includes fragrances like Empire; a scent "for the confident man determined to make his mark with passion, perseverance and drive." Success by Trump, on the other hand, promises to be an inspiring blend of fresh juniper and iced red currant, "brushed with hints of coriander." Other aromas include "a masculine combination of rich vetiver, tonka bean, birchwood and musk."

Hotels, resorts and a big ego Making money with good looks Trump Models, "the brainstorm and vision of owner, Donald Trump," is based in New York City. One of the agency's models is Hong Kong-born Mia Kang. This year, the Korean-British model has been voted winner of Sports Illustrated’s 2016 global model search contest.

Hotels, resorts and a big ego Casinos Trump inaugurated the Trump Taj Mahal casino and hotel complex on the famous Boardwalk in Atlantic City in 1990. But after years of ownership changes, it closed on Oct. 10.

Hotels, resorts and a big ego 'Debts and opaque ties' According to the New York Times, Trump's real estate empire in the US is "a maze of debts and opaque ties" - his companies having "at least $650 million in debt." However, Trump's latest hotel development in the Old Post Office Tower is the third-tallest building in the US capital, and likely a prime location for his inauguration party. Author: Thomas Kohlmann



jar,dm/jlw (AP, AFP)