Washington (CNN) Donald Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway defended the Republican presidential nominee, saying she's been alone with Trump and he's been "gracious and a gentleman," despite the lewd language from a leaked video, which she called disgusting.

"I have to assess people based on what I see in totem. And this is a man that I've been alone with many times who's never been anything but gracious and gentleman and elevated me to the top level of his campaign the way he's elevated women in the Trump organization because he respects women," she told CNN's Dana Bash after the presidential debate.

On Friday, previously unaired 2005 footage revealed Trump bragging about trying to have sex with a married woman and being able to grope women.

"When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything ... Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything," Trump said.

Trump later issued an apology, calling the conversation "locker room banter." He defended his comments during the debate, saying: "I don't think you understood what was -- this was locker room talk. I'm not proud of it. I apologize to my family. I apologize to the American people. Certainly I'm not proud of it. But this is locker room talk."

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