MIDTOWN — Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign is beyond repair following the release of audio of Trump speaking about women in vulgar, sexually abusive terms.
"I don’t think you can turn it around. What he said — that video is so disgusting, frankly, and what I’m saying to all New Yorkers, Democrats and Republicans, is that it’s not about politics," Cuomo said Monday at the Columbus Day Parade.
"It’s a statement of values, it’s a statement of character and it’s a statement of what we will accept and what we won’t accept and New Yorkers will not accept discrimination or sexism," he added.
Trump's remarks were captured on an open microphone during a conversation in 2005 with then "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush.
In the audio, Trump discusses a married woman he tried to sleep with and how he believed his celebrity allowed him to do whatever he wants to women he's sexually attracted to.
“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait," Trump said.
“Grab them by the p---y," Trump added. "You can do anything.”
The remarks caused a national outcry, particularly from women's groups that said Trump's remarks amounted to supporting sexual assault of women. Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton condemned the remarks on Twitter.
This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president. https://t.co/RwhW7yeFI2
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 7, 2016
Trump said the remarks did not represent who he was and further tried to explain the remarks during Sunday night's debate
"This was locker room talk. I'm not proud of it," he said.
Cuomo called on New York's Republican leaders to stop supporting Trump. Republican politicians around the country have been withdrawing their support of Trump and some polls show the remarks have hurt Trump's campaign.
"I think it’s time for the Republican leaders to stop playing this game of, 'Well I don’t like the comments, but I support him.' You can’t have it both ways. It’s a black and white issue," Cuomo said. "They should stand up and say, 'I’m a Republican, but I’m a New Yorker first and we will have nothing to do with the degradation of women.'"
While Cuomo was quick to condemn Trump and the New York Republican leaders who support him, he passed on the question of whether New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie should stop supporting Trump.
Just last week, a former Christie aide testified in federal court that Cuomo and Christie conspired to kill a growing scandal about the closure of lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge by ordering up a fake report.
The former aide also testified that Cuomo ordered officials from the Port Authority to hold off on exposing details about the scandal until after Christie's reelection campaign was over.
Cuomo has denied that any such conversation with Christie was held.
"Gov. Christie is the governor of the great state of New Jersey, I’m governor of the great state of New York," Cuomo said. "I will leave New Jersey to him, and New Jersey’s politics to him, and he leaves New York to me. It’s not my place to tell him what to do."
