Donald Trump’s statements ‘constitute sexual assault,’ White House says

The White House said Tuesday that Donald Trump’s comments from 2005 about kissing and groping women amounted to “sexual assault.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Air Force One that people across the political spectrum have stated that Trump’s comments “constituted sexual assault” and that President Barack Obama found the comments “repugnant.”

READ MORE: Donald Trump lauds release from ‘shackles’ as Republicans abandon him

“The president found the tape as repugnant as most Americans did,” Earnest said. “There has been a pretty clear statement by people all along the ideological spectrum that those statements consisted sexual assault.”

“That’s why many people I believe have concluded that those statements are worthy of sharp condemnation.”

WATCH: John McCain explains why he is formally withdrawing his endorsement of Donald Trump

1:32 John McCain explains why he is formally withdrawing his endorsement of Donald Trump

Donald Trump continued to engage in a war of words with several Republican leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, following the release of a video that showed the GOP nominee making extremely vulgar comments about sexually assaulting women.

READ MORE: Paul Ryan won’t campaign with Trump, focusing on Congress race instead

“It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to,” Trump posted to Twitter on Tuesday morning. The tweet appears to be in response to Ryan’s comments on Monday where he told Republicans in the House that he was no longer going to support Trump.

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WATCH: Trump responds to leaked tape calling it just “locker room talk”

1:56 Presidential debate: Donald Trump responds to leaked tape calling it just “locker room talk”

On Friday, the Washington Post and NBC released video of Trump speaking to then-Access Hollywood host Billy Bush about making sexual advances on women without their consent.

“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.  “And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything … Grab them by the p—y.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "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.  "And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything … Grab them by the p—y."

Trump was forced to issue a public apology for the remarks and has repeatedly dismissed them as “locker room talk” including during Sunday’s debate when he was pressed on the issue.

*With files from the Associated Press