Read The Transcript Of Donald Trump's Apology

Yesterday turned out to be a bad press day for both presidential candidates, with Wikileaks publishing transcribed excerpts of some of Hillary Clinton's paid speeches, and the Washington Post releasing a 2005 recording of Donald Trump bragging about groping women. But with Trump's poll numbers eroding after his widely-panned performance in the first presidential debate and his impulsive revival of his feud with previous Miss Universe Alicia Machado, the Republican nominee still finds himself on the weaker side of this election. And this transcript of Trump's apology video proves he's not pivoting any time soon.

Probably realizing the recording could not go ignored, Trump posted a short video apology on his Twitter account roughly nine hours after the news broke. He insisted on being a changed man, while also reminding the public of Bill Clinton's own history of sexual assault allegations. He then moved on to promise further discussion about this matter with Bill "in the coming days."

The Trump campaign has been seizing on Bill's past and Hillary Clinton’s behavior toward his victims as a point of attack for months, but following the Democratic nominee’s strong condemnation of Trump’s misogyny during the first debate, the team has increasingly brought it up in the media. Yesterday’s events and Trump’s promise of further discussion at the end of his statement are probably signs of an extremely volatile debate tomorrow.

Below is the original video statement and complete transcript of Trump's apology:

Trump: I've never said I'm a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that I'm not. I've said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more-than-a-decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize. I've traveled the country talking about change for America, but my travels have also changed me. I've spent time with grieving mothers who've lost their children, laid-off workers whose jobs have gone to other countries, and people from all walks of life who just want a better future. I have gotten to know the great people of our country, and I've been humbled by the faith they placed in me.

I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never, ever let you down. Let's be honest, we're living in the real world. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we're facing today. We're losing our jobs, we're less safe than we were eight years ago, and Washington is totally broken. Hillary Clinton and her kind have run our country into the ground. I've said some foolish things, but there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed, and intimidated his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday.

These comments were made more than a decade ago, so this apology was long overdue.

Images: Donald Trump/Twitter (1)