The Stormy Daniels interview on Sunday’s 60 Minutes was much to do about nothing. She said she and Donald Trump had sex together and that she was threatened with physical harm by a man if she didn’t keep quiet about their relationship. She also emphasized she was not a victim.
Stormy’s interview was anything but stormy. It failed to meet the expectations resulting from the pre-show hype put forth by CBS and the nation’s media.
Trump has repeatedly denied having a relationship with Daniels, calling the accusations fake news. The porn actress and her lawyer have not provided any evidence that the two had a sexual relationship. So, this is a classic case of ‘he said, she said.’
President Trump not only has to deal with the media storm over Stormy’s revelations, but he is also faced with claims by former Playboy model Karen McDougal that she had a 10-month affair with Trump. Both alleged affairs took place in 2006 around the time Trump’s wife gave birth to their son Barron.
What will the voters do in 2020 about the allegations made by Daniels and McDougal? They were not persuaded by the allegations of more than a dozen women during the 2016 campaign that they were sexually abused by Trump. Nor were the voters persuaded by the video clip showing Trump saying, “Grab them by the pussy.”
Despite Trump’s denials, Stormy and Karen are probably telling the truth. Since a significant percentage of husbands cheat on their wives, Trump’s flings are not a big deal to men. Women? That could be a different matter. But it should be noted that surveys show quite a number of wives cheat on their husbands too.
Hillary Clinton now says she lost the election because white women were intimidated by their husbands into voting fir Trump. If those women are pissed off in 2020 over Trump cheating on his wife, they might tell their husbands to shove it. In that case, Trump’s reelection bid could be in deep doo-doo.
The 2020 election will most likely be decided by the state of the nation’s economy rather than by Trump’s affairs with a porn actress and a Playboy model. If the middle class is better off, Trump has a good chance of being reelected.
If the middle class is not better off, look for Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren to be our next president. Oops, I forgot Oprah.
Cody says
It really doesn’t seem like these type of personal issues matter to people much the way they used to. Has media oversaturation desensitized us to these stories?
Tom says
It’s a matter between the President and the First Lady. If she divorces him, fine for her. If they decide to stay together, fine for them. It’s their decision.
Recently on TV, the First Lady has looked more than a bit pissed at her husband, but so did Hillary Clinton after Bill fessed up to Monica.
Trump and Clinton aren’t the first presidents who engaged in a little sex outside of marriage. It’s a long tradition ranging from JFK and Marilyn Monroe (and many others) to FDR to lord knows who.
The only possible thing I see that might be wrong is if the $130,000 payment to Stormy legally was a campaign expenditure. If it was, somebody could be in trouble not for adultery but for violation of campaign finance laws. Other than that, it’s a matter to be handled by the Trumps.
Howie Katz says
You’re right on all points, Tom. But the hatred of Trump by the media and the availability of social media have made Trump’s sexual escapades everybody’s business. FDR, JFK and philandering Bill benefited from a media that loved them and from the unavailability of social media.
Here’s an interesting thought. What would happen if Melania told the president: “Donald, you prasec, I’ve had it with your cheating on me. Get your damn ass out of this house.”
(Prasec: Slovenian for son of a bitch.)
Tom says
If she wanted to toss him out of the Trump Tower condo, no problem. However, the White House is the President’s House and Trump is President of the United States whether you like it or not. He won fair and square under the rules we elect presidents by.
And, I don’t think Bill Clinton got a walk. He got impeached for crying out loud. At one point, the general rule among the press was that whatever a public figure did in private was private as long as it didn’t effect his job. I can’t tell you exactly when that ended but by the time a philandering John Tower was nominated for defense secretary, it was over. And JFK for that matter. It doesn’t effect how he does his job.
Frankly, Howie, Trump can be criticized for a lot of things he does as president but a mutually agreeable or at least voluntary roll in the hay a decade before he became president isn’t one of them.
Cypress Texas Tea Party says
Howie, I believe your assessment to be correct, however, it is a sad reality how unimportant honor and character have become in our society.
PeterD says
Cypress, exactly when were honor and character important qualities in a US President? There is ample evidence that George Washington engaged in trysts, Thomas Jefferson raped his slaves who bore him sons, and so forth down the line. Others were notorious for being drunkards and not above adopting a philosophy of by any means necessary to get what they wanted, both politically and personally, treaties ignored or abandoned at will or using patronage to secure employment for family members and friends.
Long before he showed political aspirations, President Trump proudly displayed his mistress Marla Maples to the world while still married, all while telling reporters he had scores of other bed buddies too. That was close to 30 years ago and was no secret, various others coming forth with credible accounts of his misbehavior as well. So I agree with Tom and Howie regarding this entire matter, such behavior is simply not out of line for a president whether we like it or not.
Cypress Texas Tea Party says
PeterD, you give valid examples of poor character traits in past presidents, but my statement was directed mainly at how our society seems to not value honor and character.
For me, a good leader would have to display honor and character in order for me to trust him to lead me and others that I care about. I am not one who believes that the ends justify the means. I care about where my life is going and also about how I get there. I will always seek to align myself with people who can help me improve my character and there are many.
PeterD says
Cypress, character and honor are wonderful qualities in a leader but the reality is that most voters are not going to find either in any kind of quantity these days. Further, just how well can a modern voter determine how much of them a political leader has given the spin doctors, media specialists, and willingness of so many voters to not care? Anyone can learn to talk the talk, grandstand while getting nothing done, and pay lip service to such qualities to stay in office but those who learn to look just below the polished exterior all too often find the truth is nothing close to what we want. Then, the push by small groups is to play sleight of hand games when big deficiencies are discovered, either vilifying the opponent to make said candidates the better of two evils or to blame the media for making stuff up. Just look at some of the ridiculous personal attacks we saw during this primary season and tell me how this candidate or that candidate has a shred of honor or good character…
Cypress Texas Tea Party says
PeterD, I maintain that the negative things that you attribute to some politicians are not true of most people who seek office out of a desire to serve and there are many of those people. Get to know the candidates from your local elections personally and I think you would be surprised to see the good character displayed by many of them. That isn’t as hard to do as you might think as most local candidates are excited about talking with prospective voters.
This I will grant you, that the Washington DC environment has a way of challenging even the best of character and, unfortunately, way too many make poor decisions and become compromised or just forget what got them elected in the first place. The same thing happens in Austin, but to a lesser degree.