Will He Resign? Donald Trump Releases Video Statement on Billy Bush Comments

Donald Trump released a 90 second videotape at midnight Eastern time. It's at the bottom of this page.

So many controversial comments in the past 18 months have rolled off of Donald Trumps back like water off a duck. But this time it's different. There is active speculation that the Republican nominee will step down as a Presidential Candidate, and what the party would do.

MSNBC, a network as rabidly pro-Clinton as FoxNews is Pro-Trump, says that many donors and elected Republican officials around the country, are talking about urging Trump to step down as the nominee. They are saying at this point they would have to have write in campaign, probably for VP candidate Mike Pence

"This comment is not only intolerable from a moral perspective, but unsurvivable politically." said MSNBC Senior Political Analyst Mark Halperin.

Trump's name is already printed on ballots. Halperin notes that this may blow over, after the Trump apology video. But the comments on a Friday night, is intense and urgency. Because many of them know it is just not a sustainable position to say this is our candidate.

Donald Trump himself is expected to release a video statement any time. It is already 1120 pm on the East Coast.

The tape released by the Washington Post showing Donald Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women ("Locker room talk 11 years ago," said the Trump campaign in a statement). It almost certainly originated from the Clinton Campaign. A novice with the past, the Republican nominee is running against the Clintons, a political dynasty.

Republican Party Lawyer Ben Ginsberg says that the RNC would have to reconvene to remove Trump. But as a practical matter, the ballots have been printed. Their could perhaps be stickers to put over the names; Lisa Murkowski managed to do a write in campaign in Alaska, starting in September. This would be unprecedented on a national scale, said Ginsberg.

Occasionally senators have dropped out or died, he said. Ballot officials certainly have contemplated this possibility, but there is no one national answer.

"There are some states where you could substitute out a name, but to do that in a comprehensive way, would be impractical."

Halperin said there is deep skepticism that anything Trump could say in the way of an apology would be effective. Even last week, he was attributing remarks like this to entertainment. "Whatever the statement is that may be coming, it is unlikely he could say something that would explain or negate it."

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R) of Utah, has withdrawn his endorsement, but said he could not vote for Hillary Clinton. Utah's governor echoed Chaffetz on both points. Reince Priebus, Paul Ryan and other Republican Senators and Congressmen have all tried to distance themselves from Trump's latest scandal. Some think it is inevitable that Trump will step down, and as time goes by, they will be asked how quickly they distanced themselves from Trump.

As for Mike Pence himself, he took the stage here just over an hour after a tape emerged of Donald Trump crudely bragging about sexually harassing women and would not respond when asked about the tape.

Confronted by multiple reporters on the rope line after the speech, he simply ignored repeated questions about his reaction to the tape, first reported by The Washington Post, in which Trump said of women: “Grab them by the pu--y. … You can do anything.”

Robert Costa, a Washington Post political reporter, says “This is a serious moment for the Republican party. There are informal conversations, a round robin of phone calls, among Republican party officials of what would happen should Trump decide not to stay on the ticket. There is talk that Trump should sound contrite, that the story has legs, and that nothing Trump says will stop it.” The WaPo is owned by Mark Bezos of Amazon. Bezos and Trump are public enemies.

“The people around Trump in Trump tower, all share a common thread behind the scenes, they let Trump be Trump. They don’t have the capitol with Trump to rein him in.” said Costa.

Trump has to give an unconditional apology that is convincing, said Mike Murphy, Republican Political Consultant. “Trump has to understand as a reality check, his odds of winning are now nil. This is an existential crisis for the campaign. Maybe the best thing for him to do is step down, or the White House goes to Hillary Clinton.”

Access Hollywood has said that they alone have hours of behind the scene videos of Trump saying things like this. Contestants on Celebrity Apprentice have said there is all kinds of video of Trump saying horrible things, in Mark Burnett’s vault and also Access Hollywood’s, that can be released. “Burnett will be pressured to release those tapes,” says Murphy. “This means he will spend the rest of the campaign apologizing. This is as bad as it gets."

"Trump is the worst thing you can be in October, a liability. More and more elected officials will call on Trump to step down. If he wants out, if he wants an escape hatch, boy does he have it now."

On Twitter, many Donald Trump supporters were rather Sanguine about it. "Who cares that Trump used the word pussy 11 years ago, when Russia is basically wanting to start World War 3 today." wrote @BenRoss75, referring to Pres. Obama's assertion today that the Russian government was behind the hack into the DNC computers and wikileaks e mails. It is believed to be the first time a US president has accused a foreign power of attempting to interfere in a US election.

"Why is this even news?" tweeted Deplorable Melissa. "Oh yeah, coz wiki leaks just revealed Hillary is a Wall St. shill who wants open borders," referring to a story totally overshadowed by the Billy Bush/Trump conversation.

Donald Trump released a 90 second videotape at midnight Eastern time: "I’ve never said I’m a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that I’m not. I’ve said and done things I regret, and the words on this decade old video released today, are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong and I apologize. I have travelled the country talking about change for America, but my travels have also changed me. I’ve spent time with grieving mothers who’d lost their children, laid off workers whose jobs lost their jobs to other countries and people from all walks of life, who just want a better future. I’ve come to know the great people of our country. I am humbled by the faith they place in me. I promise to be a better man tomorrow and will never ever let you down. Let’s be honest, we are living in the real world.

This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we face today. We’re losing our jobs,we’re less safe then than we were 8 years ago, and Washington is totally broken. Hillary Clinton and her kind have run our country into the ground.

I’ve said some foolish things But there are big differences between my words, and the words and actions of other people.

Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary Clinton has attacked, shamed and bullied his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday."