Story highlights "Those of us that have gotten to know him know the journey that he has been on to his faith," Clovis said.

Clovis on Trump: "This is a person who has revitalized his faith over just recent years."

(CNN) Sam Clovis, the co-chair for Donald Trump's presidential campaign, said on Tuesday that Trump's 2005 comments about forcing himself on women came before he "revitalized" his Christian faith.

"Those of us that have gotten to know him know the journey that he has been on to his faith," Clovis said on The Mike Gallagher Show. "And I think that this was one of those episodes that occurred at a time in his life before he had a turned the corner on this. I think he's, as I think Jerry Falwell has said and James Dobson and others have commented on the fact that he is a new Christian."

Clovis continued, "This is a person who has revitalized his faith over just recent years. And for many of us who have been on a faith journey for a long time, we all understand this. We all understand how this evolves and I think that's why evangelicals are sticking with him regardless of the gutter talk that took place on that set."

In the audiotape, first published on Friday by The Washington Post, Trump described how he tried to have sex with a married woman and said that sometimes he grabs women by their genitals.

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