President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has known movie mogul Harvey Weinstein 'a long time' and that he's 'not surprised' by the revelations he paid eight women money to settle sexual harassment claims over the past three decades.
When asked by a reporter how the Weinstein revelations were different from an Access Hollywood tape in which Trump is overheard saying he grabs women by the genitals, he replied: 'That's locker room. That's locker room.'
The president made the remarks to reporters at the White House on Saturday. They came as the scandal became politically charged with many on the right pointing out Weinstein's links to the Hillary campaign.
Clinton is yet to comment on the scandal but her daughter Chelsea retweeted a series of posts attacking the right for politicizing the Weinstein expose and bringing up his political donations.
President Donald Trump (seen waving to the media on Saturday on the South Lawn of the White House) said that he has known movie mogul Harvey Weinstein 'a long time' and that he's 'not surprised' by the revelations he paid eight women money to settle harassment claims
Trump and his wife, Melania, are seen above with Weinstein (far right) and his wife, Georgina Chapman, in New York in December 2009
Trump's comments about Weinstein were made nearly one year to the day that an audio tape of him bragging about 'grabbing women by the p***y' was leaked.
Trump was overheard using crude language about women while speaking with Billy Bush during a taping of an Access Hollywood segment in 2005.
The 'p***ygate controversy' which erupted during last year's presidential campaign threatened to derail Trump's candidacy.
Trump apologized for the remarks, which he attributed to 'locker room talk'.
Trump's comments were also made one day after Weinstein took an indefinite leave of absence as the co-chairman of The Weinstein Company, the hit-producing Hollywood studio.
When asked by a reporter how the Weinstein revelations were different from an Access Hollywood tape in which Trump is overheard saying he grabs women by the genitals, he replied: 'That's locker room. That's locker room.' Trump is seen on the 2005 Access Hollywood segment with Billy Bush (far right) and Arianne Zucker
In the wake of 'p***ygate,' Bush was fired from his job at NBC. He had been a regular presence on the TODAY show
The New York Times on Thursday published a bombshell story saying that Weinstein paid eight different woman financial settlements following claims of alleged sexual harassment.
Weinstein is on indefinite leave from the company he co-founded while it conducts an investigation into the allegations.
Trump wasn't the only member of his family to weigh in on the Weinstein saga.
Donald Trump Jr. joined the growing number of people calling on Hollywood heavyweights to condemn Weinstein over his decades of sexual harassment on Saturday.
The president's son took to Twitter to first dare Oscars-host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel to comment on the scandal, writing: 'Thoughts on Weinstein? #askingforafriend.'
Kimmel had just poked fun at Donald Trump for complaining about the 'unfunny' late night hosts who constantly berated him.
Donald Trump Jr (left) took to Twitter to first dare Oscars-host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel (right) to comment on the scandal, writing: 'Thoughts on Weinstein? #askingforafriend.'
He swiftly responded to Trump Jr.'s challenge but didn't take exactly take the bait, instead retorting with a quip about how the New York Times - the Trumps' media nemesis - broke the Weinstein story.
'You mean that big story from the failing, liberal, one-sided New York Times? I think it is disgusting,' he responded.
Trump Jr., echoing his father's earlier complaints that Kimmel and other late night show hosts' criticism of their family was becoming repetitive, carried on the spat.
'Great I look forward to your monologues next week. You're probably due for a change if only for a moment or two,' he said.
Ramping up the tone of their exchange, Kimmel fired back with a clip to his father's infamous 2005 Access Hollywood 'grab them by the p***y' tape'.
Kimmel has faced criticism along with fellow late night TV hosts Stephen Colbert, Seth Myers and Jimmy Fallon for not making mention of the Weinstein scandal in their shows this week.
They all rely on Hollywood and television stars to interview in order to draw high ratings.
Kimmel has been vocal in the past about his views on gun control and healthcare reform, dedicating the opening monologue of his show to each issue.
Don. Jr. has been on a mission to convince vocally liberal Hollywood stars to speak out against Weinstein.
Donald Jr, his sister, Ivanka Trump, and Weinstein all reportedly have something else in common - they were spared criminal charges by a Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr (pictured above), who received campaign donations from their attorneys
Weinstein is seen far left with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in New York in 2013
It was reported on Wednesday that in 2012, New York City prosecutors recommended criminal charges against Ivanka and Don Jr (above) for allegedly 'misleading prospective buyers of units in the Trump SoHo, a hotel and condo development that was failing to sell'
Vance declined to pursue criminal charges against the Trump children three months after a meeting with Marc Kasowitz (above), the Trump family attorney. Kasowitz was one of Vance's largest campaign donors
He has found himself on the same side as anti-Trump stars like Patricia Arquette, Lena Dunham, Rose McGowan and Brie Larson who have so far been the only prolific voices in Hollywood to condemn Weinstein's behavior.
Donald Jr, his sister, Ivanka Trump, and Weinstein all reportedly have something else in common - they were spared criminal charges by a Manhattan district attorney who received campaign donations from their attorneys.
It was reported by ProPublica on Wednesday that in 2012, New York City prosecutors recommended criminal charges against Ivanka and Don Jr for allegedly 'misleading prospective buyers of units in the Trump SoHo, a hotel and condo development that was failing to sell.'
But the district attorney, Cyrus Vance, declined to bring charges after he received a visit from the Trumps' lawyer, Marc Kasowitz.
Kasowitz donated $25,000 to Vance's re-election campaign, making him one of the largest donors.
Three months after Kasowitz asked Vance to drop the case, the DA obliged.
On Thursday, International Business Times reported that Vance declined to press sexual assault charges against Weinstein in 2015 after a complaint by an Italian model.
Months later, Vance received $10,000 in campaign donations from David Boies, Weinstein's lawyer.
'David Boies has been a supporter of the District Attorney since long before 2015, including before he was first elected, and has never spoken to him about Harvey Weinstein,' a spokesperson for Boies told IBT.
A spokesperson for Vance also denied any impropriety.
'David Boies did not represent Harvey Weinstein in 2015 during the criminal investigation,' Joan Vollero, communications director for Vance, told IBT in an email.
Meanwhile, many conservatives on the internet have seized on the Weinstein scandal because of his known political affiliations with the Democratic Party.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and several Democratic politicians including Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Chuck Schumer said Friday they will re-route Weinstein’s political donations to women’s rights groups.
'The DNC will donate over $30,000 in contributions from Weinstein to EMILY’s List, Emerge America and Higher Heights because what we need is more women in power,' DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa said in a statement.
Weinstein was also a prominent supporter of the Democratic nominee for president, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The movie mogul hosted numerous fundraisers for Clinton and former President Barack Obama.
Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, broke silence on Saturday on the Weinstein sexual harassment allegations by sharing a lengthy Twitter thread attacking reports that have attempted to politicize the Hollywood scandal.
Without making a formal confirmation, the former First Daughter turned businesswoman appeared to also support the reports bashing Weinstein after news erupted this week claiming the movie mogul had been paying off his accusers for decades.
Clinton took to Twitter this afternoon to retweet a seven-part thread published by ThinkProgress editor, Judd Legum, which detailed Weinstein's 'despicable' behavior addressed into detail in a New York Times report.
Meanwhile, many conservatives on the internet have seized on the Weinstein scandal because of his known political affiliations with the Democratic Party. Weinstein was a major fundraiser and supporter of Hillary Clinton (seen above with Weinstein in New York in 2012)
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and several Democratic politicians including Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Chuck Schumer said Friday they will re-route Weinstein’s political donations to women’s rights groups. Weinstein is seen second from left with then-Senators Barack Obama (far left), Frank Lautenberg, and Schumer
Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, broke the ice Saturday on the Weinstein sexual harassment allegations by sharing a lengthy Twitter thread attacking reports that have attempted to politicize the Hollywood scandal
Clinton took to Twitter this afternoon to retweet a seven-part thread published by ThinkProgress editor, Judd Legum, which detailed Weinstein's 'despicable' behavior addressed into detail in a New York Times report
Legum wrote: Weinstein's conduct, as documented in the NYT, is despicable ... Also despicable, are those that are using the story exclusively as a political narrative, with no actual concern for the victims or issue.
'Core issue here is not Weinstein's political donations, but the powerful in Hollywood who knew about the conduct but stayed silent,' Legum said.
'It's an issue of powerful institutions protecting predatory men. If you care about this, you'll talk about that.'
He then continued: 'Instead it's being absorbed by the right into their slime machine ... This isn't just an effort to weaponize it politically against 'liberals.' It's also an effort to distract from the actual discussion.
'FACT: Most of the folks talking about Weinstein on the far right don't even believe sexual harassment is a problem.'
Before bringing attention to Legum's stance on the investigative claims, Clinton shared a tweet from one of Weinstein's newest accusers - former Fox News anchor, Lauren Sivan.