Letters from an American - I Can Do Whatever I Want

Episode Date: October 8, 2026

October 7, 2026On October 7, 2016, the story of the Access Hollywood tape broke, in which Trump told tv host Billy Bush about his approach to women, Five years later on October 7, 2021, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s draft report on its investigation into Trump's attempt to use the Department of Justice to overturn the results of the 2020 election found that Trump abused the power of the presidency, Five years later, on October 7, 2026, Trump asserted that he can do whatever he wants, including “bad things to Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama.”  Ten years we've been at this. To read this letter, click here:Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyYou can also find Heather at:YouTubeBlueskyInstagramFacebookThreadsTikTok Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, this is Michael Moss. October 7th, 2026. On October 7th, 2016, in the run-up to the 2016 election, the Washington Post broke the story of the so-called Access Hollywood tape, a video from 2005 in which Donald Trump told television host Billy Bush about his approach to women. I don't even wait to start kissing them, he said. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

Grab them by the . You can do anything. On October 7, 2021, the Democratic majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee released a draft report of its investigation into Trump's attempt to use the Department of Justice to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The report found that Trump repeatedly tried

to get the Department of Justice to endorse his false claims that the election was stolen and to overturn its results, singling out nine specific attempts to change the outcome. Trump, the report says, grossly abused the power of the presidency. On October 7, 26, from the Oval Office, Trump told reporters, I could have done very bad things to Hillary Clinton. I could have done very, very bad things to Joe Biden.

I could have done very bad things to Barack Hussein Obama. I thought it was inappropriate to do so because you have to treat the office of the presidency with respect. Then I found out that they impeached me twice, and I certainly, even to this moment, I can do whatever I want, if I want. They've done some very bad things. You just mentioned it.

It was just mentioned in the form of a question what they did, very illegal what they did, many illegal things. But I view the presidency as a very sacred position. I can do whatever I want, if I want. Ten years we've been at this. Heather has decided to take an early night tonight. She'll be back at it tomorrow. Letters from an American was written by Heather Cox Richardson.

It was produced at Soundscape Productions, dead in Massachusetts. Recorded with music composed by Michael Moss.