Mike Pence's wife Karen 'finds Donald Trump totally vile'

The second lady was reportedly 'disgusted' by the Access Hollywood tape

Vice President Mike Pence's wife, Karen, thinks Donald Trump is “totally vile,” a former campaign aide has claimed.

Ms Pence revealed her true feelings about Mr Trump just after the Access Hollywood tape was released, the Atlantic reports. The bombshell video, released one month before election day, showed Mr Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women before an appearance on the NBC TV show.

Both Mr and Ms Pence were appalled by the video, according to the Atlantic. Ms Pence in particular was “disgusted” by the tape, a former campaign aide told the magazine.

“She finds him reprehensible—just totally vile,” the aide said.

According to earlier reports, when Mr Trump called to apologise to his running mate over the tape, he asked to speak with Ms Pence, too.

Ms Pence is a close adviser to her husband, who kept a direct line to his office when he served in Congress and as Governor of Indiana. She regularly accompanies him to off-the-record interviews with reporters, according to the Washington Post. She was even on the line when her husband called Mr Trump to announce his interest in joining the Republican ticket, the President later told CBS.

Ms Pence is also an evangelical Christian, and a driving force in her husband's conversion. The Vice President has previously claimed that he will not eat dinner alone with a woman other than his wife, and won’t attend functions with alcohol without her, either. Opponents say she has been a driving force in some of his most conservative policies.

But Ms Pence was not the only one who was horrified by the Access Hollywood tape. Shortly after it was released, according to the Atlantic, lawyers from the Republican National Committee began brainstorming legal ways to force Mr Trump out of the race. Conservative donors put together a fund to lure him away from the nomination, and Mr Pence readied himself take over in his place.

Mr Trump, however, could not be deterred. He apologised for the video and pledged to be “a better man”. He called the decade-old tape a “distraction,” and attempted to steer the conversation toward the alleged wrongdoings of his opponent, Hillary Clinton, and her husband. He turned up at the next presidential debate with three women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault.

Mr Trump went on to win the race with a historic 81 per cent of the evangelical vote, and maintains a high approval rating among evangelicals today.