WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - An infamous 12-year-old video tape of President Donald Trump was being shown on a continuous loop on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on Friday (Oct 6) by a group protesting his attitudes towards women.

The women's group, Ultraviolet, was playing the tape for 12 hours straight to mark one year since it was leaked during the 2016 presidential campaign, it said.

The tape of the then-candidate bragging about groping and having sex with women was recorded on an open microphone while Trump was about to tape a segment of a television show Access Hollywood.

He can be heard saying: "Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."

"We want to remind the American people who the president really is and who he said he was on that tape: a proud, self-professed sexual predator," said Ultraviolet's campaign director, Emma Boorboor.

While some passersby applauded the group's efforts, others defended the president.

"I think he's good for all American people, not just women," said Bea Cliatt, a tourist from Illinois.

During the campaign, Trump was criticised for his comments about women, such as insults he made about a beauty queen contestant.

Since Trump took office, his administration has proposed or undertaken measures that many see as harmful to women's rights, particularly in the areas of abortion access, health insurance, child care and workplace policies.

On Friday, his administration eviscerated requirements under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act law that employers provide insurance to cover women's birth control, keeping a campaign pledge that pleased his conservative Christian supporters.

Boorboor said she was not surprised.

"This is a prime example of how, when you elect a man who is very hostile towards women...he's now in office actively pursuing an anti-woman agenda," she said.