Presidential debate moderator Anderson Cooper wasted no time Sunday night asking Republican nominee Donald Trump the question that had been on many people's minds: had he ever sexually assaulted anyone, as he described in the video released by the Washington Post on Friday.

"We received a lot of questions online Mr. Trump about the tape that was released on Friday, as you can imagine," Cooper said. "You called what you said was locker room banter. You described kissing women without consent, grabbing the genitals. That is sexual assault. You brag that you have sexually assaulted women. Do you understand that?"

Trump demurred, saying Cooper didn't understand his 2005 statements.

"No I didn't say that at all. I don't think you understood what was said. This was locker room talk. I'm not proud of it. I apologized to my family. I apologized to the American people. Certainly I'm not proud of it, but this is locker room talk," Trump said, before launching into a diatribe about the Islamic State and Hillary Clinton's deficiencies as a candidate.

Cooper, though, was not content to let him dodge the question.

"Just for the record though are you saying that what you said on that bus eleven years ago that you did not actually kiss women without consent or grope women without consent?" Cooper insisted.

"I have not," Trump eventually said.

Trump says tapes didn't describe sexual assault Anderson Cooper: You bragged that you sexually assaulted women. Do you understand that? Donald J. Trump: No, I didn't say that at all. Posted by VICE News on Sunday, October 9, 2016

With the amount of attention Trump's 2005 comments have garnered since Friday, many have wondered what role they would play in the debate. Cooper's approach appeared to please some prominent Twitter users, who praised the moderators persistence.

Thank you @andersoncooper for the follow up. Trump doesn't get it. He doesn't understand. #debate — Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) October 10, 2016

Messy. And awkward. Trump: "It's locker room talk and and it's one of those things". Then pivot to ISIS. Anderson goes in. — Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) October 10, 2016

For his part, Trump took a number of shots at the moderators and insinuated repeatedly that the debate was not being officiated fairly. Trump took particular umbrage with Cooper at one point accusing him of failing to address Hillary Clinton's private email scandal, though Cooper had just asked a question on that very topic.

Trump classified the debate as "one-on-three," referring to Clinton and the two moderators.

-- Kale Williams

kwilliams@oregonian.com

503-294-4048