Trump Mulled Quitting 2016 Campaign After 'Grab 'em by the P**sy' Leak, Ex-Advisor Reveals

In 2016, the "October surprise" – a leak of the now-notorious Access Hollywood tape in which the then-Republican candidate boasted that women would let him "grab 'em by the p**sy" – dealt Donald Trump's presidential campaign a major blow.

Former US President Donald Trump entertained the idea of quitting the 2016 White House race following the leak of the "gram 'em by the p**sy" tapes, his ex-campaign advisor Kellyanne Conway has alleged in her memoir, cited by The Daily Beast.

In 'Here's the Deal', Conway says that on the night of 8 October 2016, she and Trump were brainstorming the future of his presidential campaign in the wake of the bombshell leak. The future 45th president had seen the reports that suggested that the Republican Party might expel him or force him off the ticket following the misogynistic comments.

“Should I get out [of the race]?” Trump reportedly asked Conway. The then-advisor writes that she wondered at the time whether her boss was testing her or actually having second thoughts about his bid.

“You actually can’t, unless you want to forfeit and throw the whole damn thing to Hillary," Conway claims to have responded, only for Trump to fire back with "What do you mean, I can't?"

Conway then had to reportedly explain that quitting was not an option, since early voting had already begun at the time of the leak.

“I know you don’t like to lose,” she told Trump according to the book, “but I also know you don’t like to quit”.

Conway claims that Trump appeared to be doubtful about his electoral victory, wondering whether his bid could still win despite the leak.

While the ex-advisor writes that she condemned Trump’s remarks back at the time, calling them "disgusting" and "reprehensible", she defended her boss in 2016, insisting that people who called his "p**sy" remarks a sexual assault should refrain from doing so.

In the final days of his 2016 campaign, Trump acknowledged the authenticity of the infamous Access Hollywood tape and apologised. He noted, however, that the vulgar 2005 comments did not reflect who he is.