So he had a tawdry affair years before running for office. How different is that from so many other politicians? Aside from humiliating him (perhaps?) when details come out, and further upsetting Melania, what difference in his position as president can this make?
We already know there was a silencing payoff that could violate campaign contributions laws. And we know he lies too much of the time. Is there expectation of other damning behavior that can result in impeachment? All the interest in this puzzles me. Someone please explain.
6
This won't sink him, Frank
6
How many books can one read from people who have been mistreated or fired by Trump. He will make a lot of people rich by his behavior and by his mistreatment of people around him. He may start demanding royalties from them.
7
The exhaustion I predicted with this presidency has set in . Most columnists have fallen for the rouse of trying to figure him out and to run after every “scandal “ and breathlessly write about it . I don’t care anymore ,and I am not surprised by anything that comes up . In a way he has won this round but I look ahead to 2020 when we may get our culture and our country back and begin to reshape it all after all of the tasteless damage that occurred with this horrible man at the helm . Too much chatter , and most of it doesn’t matter .
7
If Melania wants out with any kind of large payout, she better get it now before the Russians wipe him out completely. The really big question is why did someone with so much to hide ever run for President. Even without Mueller, there are people who are going to be investigating for as long as it takes to find out just what it is that anyone has on him.
16
I think Trump is silent on the Stormy front because he knows she is more than mere words; that there may very well be video or audio or photographic evidence of their encounters and so any Trump denial or push back would only dig him deeper into the hole because there would be evidence to the contrary.
After all, he has denied all of the allegations from 19 other woman who've accused him of varying degrees of inappropriate behavior because they are all, in his mind, "he said-she said."
With Stormy it may very well be "let's go to the video tape."
14
It is fascinating to watch and listen to people who support Trump's escapades while Mrs. Trump sits silent with warnings by Trump followers leave her alone. Flash back 20 years and it was HRC who had to answer for husband's escapades (no money involved) on 60 Minutes. So why would anyone be silent about Mrs. Trump. Shouldn't she be dragged into the public stage and be interrogated about her husband's behavior? What did she know and when did she know?
13
Twenty percent of the population voted for and mindlessly supports the idiot-in-chief because they are equally devoid of actual ethical/moral compasses. Evangelicals were always predictable — pious know-nothings whose religion is a very thin veneer hiding the hypocrites that religion so easily creates. They're sure they're going to heaven despite being anything but Christian.
Trump is a lifelong fraud who knows how to market to those who are easily mislead and highly gullible. They believe him because they think that makes them winners. What it actually does is make them frauds as well, angry people who want the twentieth century back, or even the one before it.
Eclectic Pragmatism — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — https://medium.com/eclectic-pragmatism
27
“Maybe the explanation is straightforward: He doesn’t want to give her any extra motivation to speak out and describe whatever happened between them in a negative light.”
Could be. Trump doesn't want to provoke her into releasing "certain still images and/or text messages which were authored by or relate to" him.
6
I think Trump's motivations are there for all to see. He kisses up to dictators and is nasty to democratic allies. He admires and wants to be like Duterte, Putin, Saudi Princes and Xi, to name a few. He wants to be a dictator.
12
Dear Donald: If they smite you, turn the other face.
6
I always find it amusing that his minions can look past his lying, deceitful, cheating ways. Some of the biggest onlookers are the clergy who back "their guy". They too are complicit. Stating that all that have brought accusations against The Dolt are only in it for $$$ and the notoriety. I think not!
It is very interesting that he has kept his big fat orange mouth shut as it pertains to Stormy. Hang on and buckle up...........
17
He doesn't tweet against family.
He doesn't tweet against Stormy Daniels.
He doesn't tweet against Vladmir Putin.
What do they all have in common?
17
Maybe he knows that the way to disarm her is to be (relatively) nice to her. Much the way he was to Hilary Clinton in the debate - when asked to name something positive about her, he mentioned how much he admired her work ethic.
But I think he doesn't care all that much about what she has to say. The only thing he really cares about is his reputation as a business genius, and his brand, and Mueller's investigation into his tax returns threatens that in a very real way. It's all about the tax returns and his business dealings and why the press wasn't more relentless in questioning him about those things, as they were with all the Clinton's supposed financial misdeeds, is beyond me.
11
"But diatribes are his norm. Deviations from them may hold more meaning."
That's a keen insight. I suspect you're right.
13
Amoral, cynical, self serving, cold, pragmatic, profit driven calculations are the characteristics of the Republicans in and out of office. Jeff Flake may be willing to run for president but can he get it done? Trump is a vile sexual predator with the heart of a mindless bully serving as a front man for a party replete with like minded alpha males. Their ONLY concern is 'me first' and 'you don't count' for everyone else. We are at a tipping point, brutal self serving 'realism' or compassion, competence, concern, character and commitment to American ideals of equality, equity and opportunity for all to participate in a vibrant and principled democracy. With Trump in office and NO ONE willing to take him on except Mueller and his team we are imperiled. The storm is on the horizon and moving with increasing speed and power to end civilization.
15
at least he not going after the interns ,or do they have nda's
1
Does he have interns or are most young people too smart to get sullied by being in Trump's WH?
11
The media should use some other phrase than porn star. That's how they market themselves. It's celebrity. But it's sex for money. What label to use?
Her pictures are all over the TV screen. This is how the Trump phenomena coarsens and poisons our political media. Some columnists and TV cable news hosts love this. It's the column Bruni has been waiting to write and with details that are a real turnoff.
As Lincoln wrote, with remarkable foresight: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present."
9
If it is true that the only category of people not attacked by Twitter storm are kin, and if it is true that Stormy Daniels is not attacked, then one must logically conclude that Stormy is family.
Or one must conclude that Stormy somehow is in a position to "win". We do not know how yet. But clearly we will know if she gains her voice. And make no mistake, this is about voice and how weilding it gives her power and diminishes him.
Can't wait to see how this plays out.
6
I can't wait to see how the whole Trump presidency plays out. I can't wait to see Trumps turn in the oval office in retrospect. What will it look like? Will we be able to laugh at it?
3
"Filthy Shades of Orange"--what a wonderful description of Trump's tabloid-worthy sex scandals. Personally, I hope they distract him greatly so that Trump has less time to mess with undoing important pollution regulations, consumer protection regulations, tariffs and healthcare, among other things.
Sorry I can't feel sorry for Mrs. Trump. She surely knew what sort of man her husband was before she married him and she chose to marry him anyway. If he were my husband, we'd have been divorced 11 years ago, assuming I were foolish enough to marry him.
22
I just hope Trump is gone by this time next year. He is deplorable.
19
I didn't like it when they went after Clinton about intimate affairs, don't like it with Trump.
Can't you find something to report on that actually has an impact on the citizens of the US? We already know The Donald isn't a choir boy...
The liberal media as irrational and biased against Trump as Fox news was in the age of Obama. Time to change the banner from "All the News..." to "Fair and Balanced"
Mike, Have you been paying any attention? There's much more to the Trump presidency than intimate affairs.
10
So, these law suits are not news? I, too, don't care who Trump has sex with (ewww). I do care that he is screwing the whole country by not living up to his oath of office. He lies daily and does not enforce the laws passed by Congress, even though he swore to uphold our laws. I am sure he has never read the Constitution although he put his hand on the Bible and swore to defend it. He is a low man. The sex is not the issue.
13
I have no sympathy for Melania. She knew exactly what kind of vile, untrustworthy person he was and still is. She knew, and continues to rationalize it. You're on our own, honey.
16
Mulligan! Mulligan! Scream the theocratic grifters.
It is always a good schadenfreude when the bully is punched in the nose, or the little kid cries out the dotard has no clothes.
Pass the popcorn sister.
This could be a fun distraction.
9
Though I loathe and despise Trump and wouldn't be sorry if he stepped in front of an Uber self-driving car, I must point out that John F. Kennedy's presidency would never have survived had his own sexual escapades become known.
3
Vesuviano, JFK's presidency didn't survive.
4
Vesuviano: Yes, what about, what about, what about. JFK stood up to the Russians when they were trying to put missiles in Cuba. Yes, he was sexually unfaithful to Jackie. Clinton was also a hound dog. The difference is they were leaders and were intelligent and diligent about being President. JFK and Clinton did not put their egos and personal fortunes ahead of America. They understood our form of government (as did Obama) and they could speak in complete sentences, even complex paragraphs. They appointed qualified individuals to their cabinets. There are some "what abouts" for you.
14
That's true but nothing anyone else did excuses Trump's behavior.
4
And let's not forget who else Trump is really quiet about too....Putin! I see a link there also!
12
Fifty Shades of Orange
BEST truth in all. Thanks Frank!
7
It seems that his silence on Daniels and Putin stem from the same motivation, some salacious activity that he participated is being held over him. If this is not the reason then he is a more complicated person then people have given him credit for.
9
He won't talk about Stormy and he won't bad mouth Putin. Maybe in his microscopic mind, they are the same. After all, ex-KGB is a master of disguises as well purveyor of poisons and other doping and a very strong leader and can ride bare back and chested a little like Stormy.
And have you ever seen Stormy and Vlad in the same room at the same time? Well, maybe there was that one time in Moscow when Trump was very naughty in the Dossier Hotel.
8
The article’s title is a Hoot!
5
There can't be a soul on this planet who doesn't know Trump fools around. At least he does it with professionals and not high school girls and interns like our buddy Bill. Is anybody interested when we have so many other pressing priorities?
Wow, Dan, going back 20 years ago is sooo 1998!
12
Wow, why not bring up the famous philanderer Benjamin Franklin? How about Thomas Jefferson while we're dredging up ancient history?
10
Actually, I'm starting to get the feeling Trump COULD convert to Islam and it wouldn't bother his Evangelical base. "Evangelical" now seems to have no meaning beyond affinity for money and power. Christ has nothing to do with it.
26
Stormy Daniels is the most important porn star of our time.
7
Stormy Daniels' legion of attorneys, publicists, accountants and other assorted handlers must be howling with porn-like orgiastic delight as unwitting shills like Frank Bruni just keep burnishing her brand.
Who knows or cares if Stormy did any kind of deed with the Donald? Faking it is what Stormy has built a career upon. You don't think she is really writhing in the throes of ecstasy as she climbs the highest peaks, do you?
She is playing the media just like she plays the voyeurs who are now flocking to her revitalized dancing career. A good stripper makes you think you are the only one, and you want to believe her.
But, it's all a sham. Tune into 60 Minutes. Or read the NYT. And, fantasize.
Well played, Stormy. Shoot, Bruni doesn't even know your real name.
"She is playing the media just like she plays the voyeurs..."
How exactly is that different from the The Orange One? She's doing the exact same thing he is, maybe he's just jealous. And yes, I fully realize that I am indulging in "well, he does it too so there!".
4
Let US not forget Melania's complicity in this charade. I don't give a hoot how much she's invested, literally, in the Trump Empire. She as culpable as the rest of them.
Walking the runway, hand in hand, standing by her husband's side, pretending. A man who has no qualms about committing adulterous acts with pornographic actors while his wife is home with a new-born son whom Trump has no interest in.
Please, Trumpians, do not regale me with tales of Slick Willy and JFK. Old Bubba had his peccadilloes to be sure. He did an awful thing. He then lied about it under oath. But, it was an embarrassment. There was no lovey-dovey pretending, no hugs and kisses. Things were as frosty as a night in Siberia. Bill wouldn't dream of parading Hillary before US for quite some time.
Not so with Trump, this pitiful excuse of a man, a husband, a father. What Bill Clinton and Jack Kennedy did was never meant to become public. In JFK's case, it was a different era. The Press protected its presidents by keeping things personal private. That buffer has long ago been torn asunder. Now, there is no bar too low to go.
Does character count? Bill Clinton and Jack Kennedy knew what they did was wrong. Trump has no such scruples, no sense of integrity, proper decorum, of f setting an example for the rest of US how a president should present himself to the World. Trump can never make America great because he lacks all of the qualities which makes America great.
DD
Manhattan
13
We can safely assume that Melania signed a prenup with an NDA and a non-disparagement clause, but I don’t think she would have to worry about money if she were to walk out. Is it possible that the prenup gives him custody of their child if she leaves? Can anybody think of another, more compelling reason for her to stay? Could it be her affection for Ivanka and Don Jr.?
2
Why are Democrats not outraged? No need to be. They know that this stormy presidential embarrassment marks the end of the reign of the born-again, white evangelical and white Catholic guardians of our national "morality." The majority of white Catholics and a full 81 percent of white evangelicals supported Trump in 2016 and--shockingly--still today they support this pompous, craven, predatory autocrat-worshiping demagogue.
Those of his supporters who voted for him on religious grounds--anti-abortion, pro-conservative SCOTUS, etc.--have lost their credibility and their standing as enforcers of "the law of God." Now we can return to the practice of safeguarding our Constitutional liberties, the sine qua non of character and a morally principled life. We can evaluate candidates for public office on the basis of their skills, native intelligence, policy proposals, and respect for the equality of all under the law. When theocrats speak, the response will be satire, long-deserved ridicule, and verse 23:3 of Matthew's gospel: "But do not do as they do, because they do not practice what they preach."
13
There's an argument to be made that we shouldn't stoop so low as to fixate on something as insignificant and irrelevant as a tawdry affair--the same argument liberals made in defense of Bill Clinton. Maybe. But what really troubles me about this story is the blatant nature of the lying. Particularly that special Trumpian brand of lying, which feels like such an insult to the intelligence for many of us but which somehow manages to successfully bend reality for his many supporters. Trump and his lawyers say she is lying at the same time they say that she must adhere to the confidentiality agreement, a self-evident contradiction. They denied any payment had been made, until that became incontrovertible. When the prospect was raised that this payment (which never happened) might have amounted to an illegal use of campaign funds, Michael Cohen expected us to believe that he paid that money himself with no direction from Trump out of his own pocket--which is just absurd. One of the hallmark traits associated with totalitarianism is when a leader and his lackeys can make statements that are so self-evidently false and get away with it.
11
My guess is that he knows she has irrefutable proof - pics - to rebut his denials. All of the rest of his louche behavior - except for the Hollywood Access tape - is unrecorded for posterity. Not that the accusations are any less true, mind you.
5
I wouldn't doubt that Donald and Melania have an "arrangement", Donald gets to do whatever he wants as along as he doesn't publicly embarrass Melania. That's why she didn't care about the many women or the payoffs. That's why he made all the payoffs. It's also why she didn't care about the unprotected sex (and neither did he). The question is whether she will walk now, taking Barron with her.
As with most of these scandals, it will be the illegality of the payments and./or the cover up that will bring him down. Someone always gets too cute or sloppy. (Looking at you Mr. Cohen). Mr. Wolf would not have made the same mistakes (nod to Tarentino).
But as an afterthought, could Donald's current mental state be attributable to advanced syphilis following multiple unprotected sex? Just wondering.
5
Frank...the first sentence...wrong...
"Apart from his own kin, there’s no category of person exempt from Donald Trump’s attacks."
This category: Authoritarian Leaders - Putin, Duterte, Assad
4
It is always strange to me that there seems to be a relatively common view that Trump’s - or any other man’s - lack of fidelity constitutes a public humiliation of the woman to whom he is married. In my books, the only person the man is humiliating/shaming is himself, demonstrating that he is lacking in integrity, of poor character and/or has personal issues he is unwilling to address in any mature way. Mr. Trump is repeatedly demonstrating both failings on a daily basis.
5
Trump's trying to find out what it will take to keep her quiet.
1
As much as I kvell when I see right-wing moralists and a whole passel of evangelicals twist themselves into Klein bottles trying to get everybody to ignore this craziness, they really may want to give some thought to what their own personal Jesus is going to have to say to them about this sort of thing.
By the way, none of us commies really care about who Trump's doing, except for the occasional snicker about how wonderfully pneumatic they all are.
What we care about is the cheap bullying, the payoffs, the endless lying, the contempt for women, the sense of absolute entitlement, and Trump's incompetence.
Kinda damages the country, having a President like this.
11
Others here have talked about Melania's legal agreement with Trump others call a marriage. What will it take for Melania to get out of this travesty? Would she need to leave her cushy digs in New York? How would this effect her ability to bring relatives into this country from the old country? Perhaps she never turns on the TV, reads a news paper or computer. She could go on the offensive and upset the whole apple cart, but would that serve her. This question reminds me of the flak Hillary took when she failed to leave her philandering husband which Republicans threw at her endlessly and seems to be a part of the bind that women find themselves in when partnered with someone who acts disgracefully.
Trump should be scorned for his own lack of scruples which does not mean that their partners be smeared in the same way, but in these things women seem to be judged more harshly than their men.
5
Could it be that Stormy knows where the bodies are buried? Could she know he has paid for abortions, fathered a child or two? Or maybe he is into dominatrix. Where he likes to be tied up and beaten. That just doesen't fit with his persona and he would do anything to keep that a secret.
Regardless of his peccadilloes, he's still a pig for is treatment of women, and disrespect to his wife.
When does he get to be held accountable? If not booted from office, then totally enbarrassed.
3
What I find difficult to believe is this seeming cascade of "non-disclosure agreements" that appear to be an important part of Trump's life. How many are there? We've heard of them being normal (?) policy for his associates too. Why? What is there to really hide? The details of the relationships are pretty much in the court filings, so it's all there anyway. It seems so self defeating for Trump to drag these through the courts.
4
Surely the prenup Melania signed also has a "silencer" clause. I find the imbalance in the pay off to Stormy's agreement interesting. If she talks, she has to pay back an enormous amount, far exceeding the amount she received. Is Trump quiet because he also agreed not to speak of it? Why the imbalance if the reputation of Trump is not more valuable than hers?
4
Ten years prior to running for office Trump had affairs. Twenty years prior to running for office Trump had affairs. Thirty years prior to running for office Trump had affairs. Not a secret at all. Non disclosure agreements are perfectly legal and used by many organizations. The more sordid details may sell newspapers and commercials for a few weeks but it will not amount to much.
1
its not the affair, its the payoffs and cover up with (maybe) campaign funds right before the election. Everyone went nuts about the Clinton email discussion right before the 2016 vote. Don't you think that disclosure of all this before the vote might have had some impact- maybe enough to swing the election? THATS the problem, not the affair itself.
6
The only thing I care about is if campaign finances were used to shut her up.
12
Trump never wanted to win and he never expected to win. He stole the GOP's rabble from right underneath that crooked braintrust's nose and demolished their stable of nags. Who can forget the Florida primary victory speech/infomercial? Then the horror of election night. Trump is now forced to do his performance art on terms not to his liking. He has to be looking for an exit, even if only a door frame is left because he's destroyed the rest of the bloody building. Perhaps Stormy is just lady to escort him off stage.
5
She's not accusing him of rape or abuse right? Two adults. Even if he paid her it's still consensual. What is the point of all this news coverage other than pandering?
The NYT is racing to the bottom.
1
Maybe heart of hearts he's a real gentleman who doesn't "kiss and tell"?!
3
Grab him by the tax returns and elsewhere. PS (hopeless, I suppose) for Trump: Grow up!
PPS: Melania should dump him flat as soon as she's ready.
7
Hmm, I wonder if he took the payments as a deduction on his returns? LET'S SEE THE RETURNS
3
If the former CIA chief thinks the Russians have a damaging dossier on trump, guess what, they probably do. The CIA rarely voices anything, especially prematurely. Maybe Steele, the British spy wasn’t speaking out of his hat.
9
Missing one factor the media seems to be avoiding, the prenup agreement with Melania. That could be the motivation behind the legal and media campaign we are seeing around this issue. There may be an adultery clause in the prenup that allows Melania to escape with her son and part of Trump's wealth. Melania knew she was marrying a man who had problems being monogamous.
Is the prenup agreement a public record? Does anyone have a copy? That document could be as valuable as the legendary Trump tax returns.
8
"Apart from his own kin, there’s no category of person exempt from Donald Trump’s attacks." - Frank seems to have forgotten Don the Con's keeper, Vlad. When is the last time he said anything negative about his "boss". He even called to congratulate him on rigging the recent election. Perhaps that was to learn about some new tactics.
6
Oh, the humiliation of it! With arteries aged in hamburger fat, Donald Trump was inadequate to the task, a description which also applies to his Presidency.
4
The delicious irony of the orange one being brought down by thinking with his "little head" is so tantalizing it is enough to wish it so. Don't worry, Robert Mueller will be issuing a complete and detailed report of what happened and who was involved when has ALL of the facts. One thing for sure is that he will be issuing more indictments.
5
"Every mention of Daniels must mortify Melania, and the president can’t afford that." MORTIFY? Maybe. Or she could be checking boxes on a matrix attached to a pre-nup.
After public humiliation #1001, she gets the castle, moat and alligators. That's why the President needs $20 million to fall from the skies in a storm(y).
5
Melania is he heroine of this story. Stormy comes in second place.
I'm glad the Donald is shaking up politics in Washington DC but as a human being he really is beneath contempt.
3
Melania is no heroine. She knew what she was getting into when she married Trump. She's a pragmatist. She'll be fine with or without Donald.
7
It's just one train wreck after another. We knew he was "sleaze" incarnate when he was running for office. What did we think was going to happen? I won't be tuning into 60 minutes to roll in the muck either. The reason he's quiet is because he believes (and he's right) that this is working for him with his base. They LIKE it and yes please give them details. Also the TV coverage is fantastic. More manipulation of the press via a Stormy?
2
Some courageous member of the Fourth Estate, who is willing to risk their press credentials, should ask Sarah Huckabee Sanders whether there was any truth that FLOTUS has barred the playing of the Classic IV's popular hit, "Stormy" and watch what happens next. Are there takers in White House Press Corps?
3
At this point, at long last, the evangelicals have to make a choice: drop and denounce Trump or forever shut up about sex and politics. Anything else would be absolutely mind blowingly hypocritical - even in the context of the many examples of past evangelical hypocrisy.
5
These women were big girls and knew what they were doing when they had a relationship with Donald Trump before he became president. They are probably disgruntled women who are bitter that he did not pursue this relationship further. They are interested in making a financial killing but will probably walk away with just the sums they have already received. These women are opportunists who want their name in the news. Maybe they are hoping for book deals that will probably prove fruitless.
It was taxes with Capone, the cover up with Nixon, lies with Clinton. It will be the payoff with Trump.
I suspect the "documents" that Stormy has may be akin to the "little blue dress" that Monica kept for a memento. If the defamation lawsuits are allowed to proceed, Don's only way out is to admit the affairs. Once he does that, the NDA payoffs become the focus. They will find a connection to him and the campaign. THAT'S what he will fall for. His base doesn't care, it will be the rule of law that gets him.
5
One thing needs to be done...All five of our living presidents: Jimmy Carter, Bush41, Bill Clinton, Bush43, and Obama need to issue a joint statement calling on Trump to resign and citing his destruction of our democracy, social and norms of governance, and the attempt to set up a dictatorship.
Just the fact that he didn't go on TV and publicly denounce Putin and Russia for the poisonings of 2 former Russians and the incidental poisoning of 19 bystanders, shows he is immoral and craven. We have a NATO treaty to uphold. An attack on one country is an attack on all. The GOP and Trump think that Putin won't attack civilians in this country. He's willfully blind to what is going on.
One thing to remember: Trump's control over his sanity and his impulse control are deteriorating. Whatever is going on in his psyche or his addiction or neuroses, it's clear to anyone, that it is progressing downward. To many of his tribe are willing to follow him down into the sewer. Time to throw the bum out.
9
Trump is an undisciplined, petulant man-child. At this point, though, commenting on Stormy Daniels would be tantamount to a confession of wrongdoing. But when has Trump ever admitted his own failings? I cannot imagine any right-thinking person is buying what this "super-stud" is selling. As many times as we have heard his vulgar braggadocio, I think the President doth protest too much.
3
Melina is well paid to put up with Trump. She already separated emotionally from him years ago. The unprotected sex by Trump with a porn star might be of concern though.
Trump realizes that his tribe of followers will forgive and forget. They need him to carry out their plans. Its his opponents that are upset and he could care less about their opinions.
He's not talking about it because it's not on Fox and Friends.
5
It is not about unprotected sexual affairs when married with multiple women that is Melania`s problem !
It is all about the threats to these woman allegedly promising bodily harm, about hush money, about blackmail, about taking money out from trumps campaign contributions and what not !
6
My guess his silence is for Melania but not in the way described by Bruni. She's building her case for renegotiating their prenup if he wants her to stick around as first lady & that scares him. He won't ever give up a penny to anyone if he can avoid it.
4
Ah, the media's obsession with sex and celebrities. Try getting out of the gutter for once.
"Filthy shades of orange"...beautiful.
5
I think we will all need a long shower after this is over.
Perhaps I was hallucinating Monday night, but I swore I saw news coverage with Melania smiling and kissing The Donald onstage in New Hampshire. It makes you wonder about pre-nup agreements.
What type of person is this President? Some obviously still like him. Does anyone have any credible, nonsexual evidence to support him not being in The White House? I keep waiting...
1
Fake news, fake memos, fake President.
2
Indeed. It is not Mr. Trump as a Lothario which threatens him. It is that he is a BAD Lothario. He is not the star of a bodice-ripper saga sweeping women off their feet in a tsunami of ecstasy. He is just an ordinary horny guy who gets routine sex as many men do, by paying for it, albeit at a higher price. ($130,000 we know about so far).
Mr. Trump would rather be reviled as he defiles women, marriage and normalcy. What he cannot abide is being ignored as the unimportant shell of a man he really is underneath this masquerade. A stiff breeze has shown us the bald pate beneath his orange coif. The harsh glare of increasingly accurate attention will show his bald soul just as clearly. The Emperor is as incompetent as he is naked.
10
Listen to the legal analysis of Stormy Daniels v Trump on Opening Arguments.
https://openargs.com/oa154-stormy-daniels-is-a-legal-genius/
The US Department of Justice doesn’t understand the implications of this story.
At the end of January 2018, Trump lied publicly about his adultery with Daniels.
It's disappointing, therefore, that US Department of Justice has again been distracted away from this story by Team Trump.
Trump's fixer Michael Cohen (MC) has breached various state and federal laws in trying to gag Stormy Daniels and four others, in each case using thug tactics to demand that each one of the five sign an NDA.
The US Department of Justice knows that in the State of New York adultery continues to be an offense.
Why does this matter? Because MC created an LLC in the State of Delaware to 'facilitate' (MC's term) a payment of $130,000 to Peggy Petersen, aka Stormy Daniels, aka Stephanie Clifford, in return for PP hushing up about her adulterous affair with DD, David Dennison aka Donald Trump, who at the time was married to Melania Trump.
The criminal law of the State of Delaware states that it is an offence to create an LLC for the purpose of committing an offence. It is an offence under the criminal law of most jurisdictions in the USA, including New York, Delaware and California, and under US federal law, to try to conceal any offense committed by any person after the event. Hence, MC has committed an offence.
3
Third Trump Lady Melania's ethnic Slavic communist atheist Slovenian accented broken American English speaking born and bred background nature has much more in common with the ethnic Slavic communist atheist Russian Vladimir Putin.
Perhaps 'really smart' Trump craved snuggling with and listening to a natural born American. Melania is not known for her big brained intellectual scintillating wise conversation.
4
I propose that, should the bleached blonde behemoth actually have nude pics of Orange Julius Caesar, we start a crowd funding move to NOT see them. No doubt, Trumps real fear is that, when published, they will have an embarrassingly small blurred out area.
4
"Every mention of Daniels must mortify Melania, and the president can’t afford that."
Yeah, right. The un-fake news is that she is chuckling all the way to the bank. Melanoma is self-satisfied that she didn't sell so cheap. One hundred-thirty thousand dollars. PAYNOOTS! Now for the final shakedown!
2
The “ denigrator in chief “ has still to get over the Freudian “ phallic phase “ .
1
The only way to fix the Trump problem is to vote straight Dem on Nov 6. Trump is protected by the GOPers in congress and that must change. Suburban GOP-voting women, stand up to this cretin.
4
Marlon bundo cover your ears.
6
The Evangelicals hitched their wagon to a lying, racist, thug who has no respect for women, let alone the rule of law, decency, or the planet that they believe God created in seven days and nights.
I'm so tired of their abject hypocrisy, perfectly illustrated by Pence and his wife. In their eyes Obama, the man married to his first and only wife, who was deliberate, smart, went to church, and polite to all, was worthy of their ire, fear and contempt but Trump is their human savior. Bring on the storm.
15
Here's hoping that Daniels' interview on Sixty Minutes this Sunday leads to a Trump "bimbo eruption" the likes of which we have never seen from all the other women he's dallied with or assaulted.
3
Unless Russia conveniently hacks the power grid beforehand.
3
This editorial is nothing compared to the Trump-supported criminal kidnapping of non-criminal Latino people residing in the USA. Judges should accept filings of illegal kidnapping which could be domestic terrorism It should be considered legislating, aiding, and abetting such a crime by the President and his ICE support staff.
1
Perhaps Pence can get Trump into a Focus on the Family group to prey him back into monogamy.
2
With all the continued talk of Russia and collusion, it may end up being the porn star who brings down a president. Or at least plays a contributing role.
2
Trump is supposed to be the great counter puncher. Hit him and he hits back ten times harder or some such garbage. The first quality a voter with a brain always looks for in a president. Could it be that Putin and Daniels have knock out power that makes counter punching a futile effort? Hope we find out soon!
4
Another question is why is Mr. Bruni so obsessed with Stormy. Is Trump the pope caught sneaking out the backdoor of a bordello? When the NYT moves from information into gossip, its intention is very transparent. The only purpose of gossip is to do harm to someone, nothing more. Voters knew or at least thought they knew of Trumps past: multiple marriages. acknowledged affairs, outrageous statements.etc. etc. etc. It must absolutely cause Mr. Bunie and his like thinking pals to tear their hair out that this bombastic, self promoting reality show host defeated their crowned queen of the 2016 election. And, before we hear electoral vote versus popular vote, that same reality show host took both houses of congress with hm. Nothing has stuck to tie him to collusion with the Russians, So now spreading gossip is the attack Trump method of the day. Are we surprised. Stories spread of Barron being autistic, Melania being a hooker, and Trump supporters being under employed, under educated white guys with missing or bad teeth. Recently another op-ed contributor imagined himself sitting near a garollous old white guy who supported Trump. Name calling and gossip are the last weapons of the shallow who are only left with their own bitterness. It's going to take more than gossip to bring down Trump.
I seem to recall that both houses of Congress went GOP by 2014, except that I noticed you seemed far more interested in reciting a list of the same tired suspects from FOX than in anything resembling facts at all.
Not that it'll fuss you none, but the reasons us commies are interested in Stormy Daniels actually have to do with the demo of Trump's ugly contempt for women, general sense of entitlement, continual lying, propensity for payoffs and bullying, and total incompetence.
3
So was your need for gossip helped when you read the reports of Barron being autistic or a reporter saying Melania was a hooker? There are plenty of gossip publications, often sold in grocery stores and pharmacies. But I hope the NYT will not one them to glance at as we wait in line.
"Apart from his own kin, there’s no category of person exempt from Donald Trump’s attacks."
What do you consider an "attack" on family if not public affairs with women who are paid to be slutty? I find it repulsive that Melania holds #45's hand as though by contract. He keeps making his bed, and apparently, they all sell their souls to lie in it! This is all so disgusting.
2
Ain't this a hoot?! In each of these revelations of Donny Sr's infidelities, we learn more about his lack of a moral compass. And as much as I want this president shamed into his departure — FOREVER — from the hallowed walls of the White House, I must note that we are talking about the character of two women; one from the porn biz, and another of Playboy magazine fame. These are, of course, the Donald's favorite targets for infidelity, unless you include two wives representing the exotic countries of eastern Europe.
Currently, both women had decided to have a roll in the hay — a "relationship," as if Trump knows what a 'relationship really is — with a married man. Of course, Mr. Trump embodies the dictionary definition of "slime." No one, not even his fans, would put up with his behavior in their own children. None would want their children to marry anyone like Donny.
It has always baffled me when "the other woman" cries foul when their married lover ends the affair. In the case of Donald J. Trump, what did they think they were getting in their affair with him? A million dollar condo in NYC? A monthly stipend in six figures? A box of chocolates and bundles of flowers?
I do hope Stormy Daniels can pull the rug from under this madman.
In the meatime, we will have to see if Melania draws her own red line. Perhaps there is a prenup' with "golden handcuffs" where she puts up with his infidelities in exchange for the luxury life she always wanted.
1
Perhaps there is a link to the Russian dossier?
1
Notice Trump's tweet nor'easter this morning that highlights his uncontrolled anger. Trump's rage was obvious by his numerous misspellings, which is remarkable for a man who allegedly has "the best words." They do show, however, his anger and frustration at not being able to strike back. Remember what Sarah Huckabee Sanders asserted that when Trump is hit, he hits back twice as hard. Well, so much for being a counterpuncher. More problematic, he knows if he directly attacks her, like he did the nineteen other women during the 2016 election, she would release even more damning information that could jeopardize his presidency and his alliance with Evangelical Christians. Whatever it maybe, it has Trump and his lawyers running scared. Could this be the end of Trump and our long national nightmare?
3
The GOP shows it lacks anything close to a moral compass. Dead kids are collateral damage in securing the NRA's support. Our married president has bedded a porn star, playmate, and who knows how many other women. The Democrats lack the GOP's killer instinct. Where is the public outrage, Schumer and Pelosi? That's why Dems need to get rid of the old timers and bring in new, young blood. If they don't take the House, it will be because of their weak, old leadership.
64
You are correct!
I have heard very little form Gillibrand, Schumer, or Tonko. I voted for all of them but I'm hoping they either "man-up" or drop out!
If you can't lead, get out of the way!
1
There is an old saying in politics: When your opponent is committing suicide, don’t get in the way.
While Dems should be loud on taxes, Russia, Trump's idiotic cabinet etc, there is no need for Schumer or Pelosi to comment on Stormy Daniels.
7
Hear, hear. I could not agree more. The Republicans put themselves forward as the moral majority. In fact they're able to overlook anything in a blind quest for political power, but to what end? Now that they have the oval office, the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court, what do they want to do with it?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/opinion/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-t... read this
Why oh why has the Times gotten rid of the serial comma? In the first paragraph here, it sounds as if a city was "just struck by terrorists and the families of American soldiers killed in combat." Can't you reconsider the serial comma, especially when its necessary to the meaning of the sentence?
3
Dear NYT Editorial Board: Point 1: I hate Trump, everything he is, and everything he and the Republican Party stand for with the heat of a thousand suns. Point 2: Either Frank Bruni needs to take a job at The National Enquirer or the NYT needs to change its name to The National Enquirer. This isn't "news," NYT, it's a garbage story on a garbage individual. Why not get back to some real reporting on matters that effect us all, like income and wealth inequality or the lack of single payer healthcare in the US; you know, things that are actually killing people in America? Just a thought, assuming you still think of yourselves as a news organization.
3
Don't really agree. It is a worthwhile observation that Trump hasn't lashed out at Stormy Daniels.
3
The Russian collusion angle to remove a duly elected president has turned out to be a dead end, so the heroic Defenders of Democracy in the left wing media turn to...wait for it...a porn star! A three-way is quite a step down from treason, wouldn't you say?
Mueller isn't finished with his investigation, and all the information and evidence he has obtained is not yet public knowledge... Please provide a reliable source as to your "dead end" allegation.
And one scandal doesn't cancel out the other scandal.
3
The man the man is an aging lothario who is becoming an embarrassment.
1
What strikes me about this latest episode of our disgusting reality President is how far America has moved since MonicaGate. I can remember how disgusted we were in hearing talk of the semen stained dress. Now we have matured so that we can suffer a gross man who revels in conquering women and bragging to cretins like Stern and Billy Bush about it.
How delicious would it be if the bribe paid to silence The Storm was the act that finally brought down the Greatest Show on Earth?
3
It is amazing that not so very long ago so-called 'Americans', collectively demanded that 'Muslim Leaders' loudly denounce the malicious actions taken by radicals 'in the name of Islam'.
Yet.
Self proclaimed Evangelical 'leaders' in America, have successfully weaseled their way around explaining their support for a morally bankrupt man, who consistently lies, bullies and debases, basically every individual or group in America that is marginalized, oppressed or in the views of their Christian followers, characterized as 'other'.
It's really appalling.
Heads up.
He was sleeping with a porn star while his wife was nursing their newborn son.
He bragged on tape about grabbing women at the vagina because his wealth entitled him to do so.
He mocks the disabled.
He demeans military heroes.
A fiction writer would have his works summarily rejected if he invented so exaggerated a character on the grounds that it asks too much of readers in the area of 'suspension of disbelief'.
5
Let ye who hath never had unprotected sex with a porn star just after the birth of his fifth child with his third wife cast the first stone. 1:1 Book of GOP
15
Thank you, that is very funny!
2
This whole scenario speaks volumes about women. It’s not bad enough that over 50% of white women voted for this imbecile. I’m not demeaning all women, but how on earth would any self respecting human actually have sex with that pile of flab? I thought women were liberated, educated, empowered and beyond mere prostitution. Maybe women’s right to vote should be rescinded, y’all don’t deserve it no more.
4
Over 50% of white women did NOT vote for Trump. Over 50% of white women VOTERS voted for him. Big difference.
Puying ,
That’s pure semantics. Why would we concer ourselves with the “non-voting white women ?” Elections are about “eligible voters.” Obviously there are many decent white women who have nothing to do with this man but the fact that nearly 53 % white women voted for this man and over 50% of white women voted for Roy Moore is baffling.
Mr. Perkins, does Stormy get a mulligan?
3
...And that, my child, is when porn & Playboy saved this republic...
5
Give credit where it is due: Dumping money into the porn industry is the best thing Trump has done for the economy so far.
When you think about all the 'outrage' from the right about Bill Clinton getting consensual oral sex in the Oval Office, and the silence from them now about the ongoing avalanche of revelations of Trump paying hush money to porn stars and playmates he pursued, his predatory behavior, his repeated marital infidelities ...
In this as in so many things, time and time again, IOKIYAAR.
(It's okay if you are a Republican.)
3
Well, now that the moron (yes, we know Rex said it!) has inserted (ugh, no pun intended ) his disgusting self into the law suit, one awaits the tweets....the worst damage Stormy could do is to say he was awful in bed...his ego would not be able to leave that be.......the tweet gates would open wide...
1
How many women constitute a "bimbo eruption"? I've been waiting for all the hypocrites to come out of the walls and start beating their chests about such an event.
1
Donald Trump having intercourse with someone isn't news. Outside of wedlock -- still not news. Without a condom? Now thats news --) What happened to no glove no love? Can't wait for 60 minutes, Stella where is the popcorn? Stella!
1
Flip the script and replace Trump with Obama in 2012. FIX News howling baboons Sean Hannity and Pirro will be leading a 24/7 call for impeachment. Hannity will have Stormy & CO on his show every single day. Ryan and McConnell will have Scalia’s court void the election result as fraud with GOP cult in Congress voting unanimously to impeach Obama.
Too bad Obama is a very dignified man.
5
So he had an affair. What else is new? Clinton; Kennedy. And it appears, Bush Sr. And what is the big deal with her being a porn star? It is a job.
Paying hush money during a presidential campaign, likely in violation of campaign finance laws, is a big deal.
4
We knew before electing Trump president that he has been a proud serial sexual predator. We have seen the Access Hollywood video bragging to Billy Bush how to grope woman so many times. Melania does not mind. The Evangelicals love him. The voters in the Bible Belt think that Trump is a strong Christian. FOX TV pundits approve his sexual predatory character. What Jesus Christ is thinking? How low USA can go with this sexy president ?
1
Rather than a little tabloid story of a porn star's prior affair with T, this narrative provides a capsular, fundamental insight into this president.
Ah frank. You never fail to disappoint. You don’t mention blacks as a group unfairly attacked by trump. No doubt because you don’t think that’s unfair, since you indulge in it yourself. You, trump and Charles Murray: quite a racist trio.
Anyone with a shred of decency would resign the presidency at this point. Few people would want to subject their spouse and children to the shame and embarrassment of multiple tawdry scandals like Trump's dragged out in the media. Moreover, multiple cases like these would consume an elected official's time and focus, impeding their duties.
But Trump? Duty and family be damned. He has always reveled in scandal like a dog rolling on dead fish.
12
Trump is a cornered rat. He's surrounded; he'll bite back more viciously than ever.
10
The disgrace that is Trump grows larger, and more vile by the week. Like a virus it grows in the dark , but shine some light on it and se what happens. Let all the world see what a low life, treasonous , amoral, moron the GOP allowed to steal the White House. VOTE OUT ALL GOP IN 2018!
19
What he does with his penis is no concern of mine.
2
But that said penis is intimately connected to the President of the United States should concern us all
What about his wallet? Plus, he's a traitor who sold this country down the drain for a few rubles - a country that gave he and his father everything!
Trump is doing exactly what his supporters expect of their version of how ‘rich white men’ act: you buy women for sex and then buy their silence. They admire him for such behaviour culminating in his 3rd (& current) wife: a soft-porn actress/model almost 30 years younger then him who’s a stunner.
3
maybe stormy was dominant? that would make him keep his mouth shut...... or maybe whatever happened with stormy would violate the prenup with melania?
4
It's time to face facts, America. President David Dennison is strangely silent because he knows that Stormy Daniels is about to tell his dirty little (and I do mean little) secrets. Dennison is less concerned about whatever it is that tempers his views and action on Russia than he is about a porn star that knows his wee-wee doesn't work. And just wait until the Trump base (the one that could care less about his shooting someone on Fifth Avenue) discovers that he has nothing but contempt for their stupidity. Hell hath no fury like a voting base scorned or an Eastern European First Lady with an Einstein Visa.
6
That's it, NYTimes!
Keep up the good work! Talk about a bloviator, his tweets and mistresses, and get in a good zinger about "Filthy Shades of Orange."
You, Fox, CNN, MSNBC and the rest have abandoned your post as journalists in the richest nation in the history of the world, one with the highest rates of childhood poverty, student debt, incarceration rates and corporate greed.
Tell us what you think will sell a newspaper, written by lazy commentators plucking silicone mammaries like so much low-hanging fruit, day after day.
It's as if you're in a contest with the Trump Administration to see which one of you can turn in the worst performance as America goes to hell in a handbasket.
4
Finally someone noticed. Thank you
1
Yet, you failed to mention Trump’s culpability in this sad saga. You are as hypocritical as they go.
1
Perhaps Melania has told her husband that one public mention of Stormy Daniels and she's gone. Politically that would damage him, not to mention how ego-deflating that would seem. His super-model traded for a porn star who wants nothing to do with him. That's enough of a threat to shut him up. I can't think of anything equivalent.
5
I wonder if he is keeping quiet so he can tell the judge that he lived up to his side of the non-disclosure agreement.....
2
So does Trump breach the NDA if he speaks out about Stormy?
1
Stormy is just the current fly in the ointment and we can expect many more flies. Trump's list of disruptions continues to grow and perhaps when 11/6/18 rolls around, American will actually react to this disgusting faux leader and his "supporters" in Congress.
5
That the Evangelicals support Tramp has his tawdry past that includes a total disregard for any idea of the sanctity of marriage and monogamy must in sum part mean that these bible thumpers do the same thing themselves, while promising fire and brimstone on others. Of course, the ultimate bombshell would be that if one of these women came forth with a story of a pregnancy and subsequent abortion that Trump demanded and paid for.
I would like to read Trump's three wedding vows. There must be an evolution in them, What did he promise any of these three wives?
9
There is one other person Trump dare not tweet against because that person also has information that Trump doesn't want revealed: Putin.
8
"He comes across as somewhat pitiable." That's what scares me most, that he will actually cry on TV, like the fallen Evangelicals, and that then I will be forced to feel sympathy for him.
2
I am really looking forward to Trump setting another ground-breaking precedent by becoming the first sitting President to go through a divorce while in the White House. Who would blame Melania for splitting? Everyone wanted Hillary to leave after Bill as well. This is her golden opportunity to walk away with her son and alimony for life.
4
I don’t think he cares. I think he’s more concerned that she gets away with breaching the supposedly ironclad contract she signed. If that happens the floodgates could open on him from many other possible litigants. TrumPutin makes anyone that works for him or plays with him sign non-disclosure agreements because he’s a criminal and he needs to hide what he’s up to. He can’t afford a breach in the wall of non-disclosure agreements that encircle his life. This is why in Stormy’s case he hasn’t lashed out at her directly, YET.
3
I finally managed to pin down a person I talk to frequently about his unshakable fondness for Trump. It seems that the nub of his stated willingness to look past appalling behavior and lack of knowledge, is the fact that he feels we must return to that fabled earlier time, when people could leave their doors unlocked and the whole world respected the USA. Any and all bad behaviors that may get us there are forgivable, indeed encouraged, to attain this goal. I think a large percentage of his base feels just the same.
They are oblivious to the concept of a Pyrrhic victory and the rest of us will have to pick up what pieces remain after the Trumpeting Trump has barged his way through our body politic, maiming decency and precedent as he goes and then retires to his golden, tacky roost, high above Manhattan.
1
He won't be going there.......
1
This is becoming tedious and boring -- exactly what Trump wants. What we need to spice things up are a couple of paternity suits against a guy who apparently didn't use condoms. Not an issue for Melania as she seems to keep her distance while exploiting his wealth and influence.
2
I don't know: with all the sickening and villainous things Trump has done and said -- acts and words that have inflicted or threaten to inflict real, serious damage for no good reason -- I'd have to say consensual sex is pretty low on the list of the things this man has to answer for, at least to the public.
I surely hope that his demise a) can be achieved before more irreparable harm is done, and b) is predicated on something other than the quantity or quality of his sex with Stormy Daniels or any other bright and shining object that caught his fancy - things like his authoritarian actions and attitudes, his contempt for the rule of law, his massive conflicts of interest, his transactional view of every relationship, his utter disregard for truth and fact, his singular capacity to divide and inspire hatred and enmity, and his manifest unfitness for public office.
What he did or didn't do with this or that woman - although illustrative of his toxic narcissism - pales before these disqualifications.
1
"But he has repeatedly ignored their counsel not to rail against Robert Mueller and others who are looking into his campaign’s ties to Russia, and that’s a matter of presumably greater threat to his presidency."
Why is everyone convinced that his biggest concern is his presidency? He never valued that; he only ran as a publicity stunt. He's a huckster, a sloganeer, a bully. His are venal concerns: vanity and pocketbook.
7
Would love this epic tragic-comedy come to end with a women slaying the demon.
6
Trump has sniffed this out. He is betting the 60 Minutes segment with Stormy will flame out (our expectations too high) and he will continue to stay mum after the show. Story will be over in a day or two as Stormy and her excellent attorney will protest too much. The Playboy bunny woman passes the decency test (looks like the girl next door) so there won't be much more about that. However .... the former Apprentice contestant could get a court to order Trump into deposition and that really could bring Trump down.
1
I wonder if the reason he is keeping quiet about Daniels is because of Melania - who has laid down the marker - if, you tweet about Daniels - then, I am out of here - let the US deal with our huge settlement divorce --
Also - a lawyer on CNN, last night said - if, Trump tweets Daniels is a 'Liar' then he invites the court to call him in for a deposition -
Believe both of these reasons are what is - for the moment - keeping him quite on tweeter.
We'll see how he responses after - Anderson Cooper's Interview on Thursday night on CNN 8-9pm with Karen McDougal -- and -- Cooper's interview with Stormy Daniels on 60 Minutes on Sunday - 7-8-m.
My guess is - he won't be able to keep quiet --
2
Please stop with the “poor Melania” bit. Why would anyone think she cares at all or believe that their marriage is about loyalty to anything other than money and celebrity.
10
I'm sick of Stormy Daniels stories and she hasn't even been able to tell her story yet. Thankfully, this editorial wasn't without merit; at the end I got a good chuckle: “Filthy Shades of Orange”. ☺
2
Best headline EVER!
3
I wonder if his fear is about losing money in his pre-nup. Maybe there is a clause that if he is proven to have been unfaithful Melania gets to walk away with most of the money. Just an hypothesis.
3
The tale of Trump and Stormy does not sit well with a leader of the free world.....it makes him look weak and subject to the foibles of a normal male.......which is truth. I do not understand why any female would tolerate such behavior.............
1
God's gift to women is about to be handed a gift he so very much deserves. An orange jumpsuit.
6
The real story here is the hush money paid to Daniels and where it came from.
The larger story is all the women who were assaulted, not th one’sth
That extramarital affairs.
It should be obvious now that he and Melania always had a contractual arrangement.
6
All I care about is that this is the type of man who would run towards a school shooter w/a semi-automatic AR-15 even if he didn't have a gun on himself - to save school children!! No one cares about his affairs...
You're kidding, right? Your comment was meant as satire, right?
1
Trump who assured everyone he'd have rushed in to confront the killer at Stoneman-Douglas today surrendered to a snowstorm and gave the White House a "snow day." All meetings (cabinet) etc. have been cancelled and Trump will be able to have ample "executive time" to lie around in his pajamas, eat cheeseburgers and watch Fox Noise and tweet all day. Presumably he'll be tweeting about Mueller, the man who will ultimate root the fat, evil, lying, treasonous, Trump, out of the White House. Frankly I'm surprised that Air Force One wasn't fired up for one day jaunt to Mar-a-Lago for a round of golf.
5
"What’s behind President Trump’s curious silence about a porn star and her story?"
Perhaps President Trump should go on TV, look the American people right in the eye and say "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."
Then all would be forgotten!
3
Clinton was impeached....lest you forget. There was a wide investigation by Kenneth Star using up millions of government dollars. Clinton paid a price, Trump has not.
1
Absolutely unacceptable that somebody standing accused by 19 women of sexual impropriety, a sexual liaison with a porn pro, and a grope fest by a Playboy model is living (with his wife) in my White House. So, Ms Lewinsky made house calls and Trump had to go hunting? That enough to make any of this okay?
6
"Apart from his own kin, there’s no category of person exempt from Donald Trump’s attacks." Except Stormy Daniels...and Vladimir Putin.
Trump is the quintessential coward. Trump is a bully, and at the heart of all bullies is cowardice and self-doubt. Donald Trump doesn't negotiate. Donald Trump bullies. Donald Trump doesn't speechify a la a statesman. He rants and rails a la a for year old in need of a nap. Trump talks tough, but he crumbles like a house of cards the second he's either in front of the person he had railed against (and then resumes is tough talk once away again) or if that person is a real threat to him. The only thing Trump knows is when the only card he has to play, bullying and thuggery, won't work, and then he is Milquetoast, screaming at his lawyers to "do something!"
He's an unskilled, incurious man, which is why he must rely on dictator-like tactics to get what he wants. But where those tactics are rendered useless, he has no other skills with which to deal with threats.
3
I am so tired of this gossip. I do not care about his sex life; I would really rather not think about it. If Obama was discovered to have had an affair with a porn star, it would radically alter his public image, but with Trump this changes nothing. Write about something serious, Bruni. These are serious times.
Trump not bullying Stormy???
Melania’s anti-bullying effort must be paying off.
2
Republican Evangelicals, Conservatives, Women, and teeny-tiny insecure white men should all stand tall and be proud of the Republican miscreant you placed in the highest office in the world (with the help of Facebook and Putin's Troll army). Mothers and grandmothers should all be particularly proud of the role model they've put forward for our children and grandchildren. For the record, I would not allow this individual to clean my barn, much less sit at Sunday dinner with my family!
Save a Republic, remove a Republican.
5
I fixed your first sentence for you:
"Apart from his own kin, AND VLADIMIR PUTIN, there’s no category of person exempt from Donald Trump’s attacks."
1
Dollars to donuts he's not attacking her because he thinks she might have photos.
See above re: Putin.
2
Oh Frank, you miss the point entirely. None of this is about Trump. This is about his voters who are beguiled beyond "offering excuses". His peeps love his very being, he can do no wrong. Attacking the establishment (anti government peeps say go); attacking the FBI they could not be trusted anyway (his peeps never trusted the FBI); loving Putin, his peeps know he is a foreign policy genius. quiet on Stormy, she makes him a man's man, a JFK for the wasp right; and the evans love him because he marries guns to god. Trump "converts" to Islam, he is going rogue to infiltrate and kill them in the name of God with the guns the evangelicals own. If mental health is an issue here, its his supporters, not Trump the rich kid getting away with what ever he wants. Harming, destroying, pilfering hate. Trump is the Tasmanian Devil sent by God to finish Operation Armageddon started by Bush 2. Hillary got it right, his peeps are deplorable. They will never see the real jerk they voted for. SO SAD.
4
Until Melania speaks for herself, the rest is hopeful speculation. Most wives do not sadden their children by airing their marital problems in public. It would be very surprising if she made the error Princess Diana did with her public disclosures. Melania is more intelligent. Another reason is, that she might know the truth better than journalists with an agenda.
1
It may turn out that the Mueller probe is likely to be the only “manly” thing left of Trump’s reputation. Just the suggestion of using another nation to manipulate this one at the highest level of government has some Deering-do; a hint of John Le Carré…
…but “Sampson and Delilah”…and a wig, at that?
3
Trump has insulted all of his enemies, past and present, and those in and out of government. He has no personal restrictions on his behaviour by his immediate family. He is a free-range hater and his supporters love it, since it is Trump being Trump. But there are two notable exceptions at the moment, Stephanie Clifford, better known by her professional name as Stormy Daniels, and the other is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Now what do they all have in common? The answer is simple - they have something on him. The Russians call this kompromat, and kompromat is anything - sexual or financial - that can force the target to do their bidding. Obviously, Trump knows what Stormy Daniels has on him and fears that exposure. In the only news conference that Trump held during his Presidency, he vehemently denied the material from the Steele Dossier, particularly the salacious part about the events surrounding the incident at the Moscow Ritz Carleton, by asserting that he is "a germaphobe." But if that is true, why would Trump have unprotected sex with a porn star, as she claims? So much for Trump's protestations. If Stormy knows, don't you think that old KGB colonel in the Kremlin knows too? There was a Russian historian and politician named Pavel Miliukov who ended a speech attacking the Tsarist regime for its links to Rasputin before the Russian Revolution with the charge, "Is this treason or is it stupidity." When will someone in Congress ask the same of Donald J Trump?
5
When Melania's parents are a-ok legal she is out of there.
On another note, wouldn't it be interesting to know how many breast augmentation surgeries the Donald has payed for in the last forty years.
4
Excuse me, but I missed the part when Clinton was President, when the "concerned liberals" wondered whether Monica thought sex with Bill was great. They were too busy attacking her and throwing her under the bus.
2
Apart from his own kin, the only other person (besides Stormy Daniels) he doesn't attack is his old friend in the Kremlin.
3
Another question is why is Mr Bruni so obsessed with Stormy. Is Trump the pope caught sneaking out the backdoor of a bordello? When the N?yT moves from information into gossip, its intention is very transparent. The only purpose of gossip is to do harm of someone, nothing more. Voters knew or at least thought they knew of Trumps past: multiple marriages. acknowledged affairs, outrageous statements.etc. etc. etc. It must absolutely cause Mr. Bunie and his like thinking pals to tear their hair out that this bombastic, self promoting reality show host defeated their crowned queen of the 2016 election. And, before we hear electoral vote versus popular vote, that same reality show host took both houses of congress with hm. Nothing has stuck to tie him to collusion with the Russians, So now spreading gossip is the attack Trump method of the day. Are we surprised. Stories spread of Barron being autistic, Melania being a hooker, and Trump supporters being under employed, under educated white guys with missing or bad teeth. Recently another op-ed contributor imagined himself sitting near a garollous old white guy who supported Trump. Name calling and gossip are the last weapons of the shallow who are only left with their own bitterness. It's going to take more than gossip to bring down Trump.
Trump's reticence on Stormy Daniels is due to Melania. The kettle's boiling.
1
Has anyone wonderedt if all of this 'distraction' is by design? Oh look over here, the President, who we already know is an adulterer, is having an affair with an attractive porn star....Perhaps Trump is not railing against Daniels because he has paid her to do this. At first Daniels was coy about the affair, now she wants to tell "her story." Why is she being so righteous about wanting to tell about an affair? In the scheme of things, this is so petty, and I can't help but feel that it is meant to distract us from more pernicious actions that are going on in the Trump government.
1
Melania used her looks early and often to advance her interests, first as a model, then as trophy wife to a vulgar rich man who was a serial cheater. To claim she should be pitied is misplaced. She was paid for her humiliation and post divorce will be paid more. She did this to herself for cash.
7
All we should wish for is a storm of tens of women who were abused by this monster; for Trump is a monster, one worshiped by throngs of primitive "believers" who worship their god with an archaic pathos that only abject ignorance, base sentiments and a grotesque sense of normalcy bias can explain. Trump is the emanation of the worst America has amassed!
3
Trump cannot afford to speak or write ill of Putin and Stormy Daniels. Trump knows what Putin has on him, sexual, financial or both.
1
Melania gets paid like all trumps staff, I have no sympathy for her.
5
I would be more than willing to give $50. to the "Get Stormy Out of the Non Disclosure Agreement " fund. Imagine if every American that did not vote for Trump gave $1.00 to such a fund,this would likely be all over. Perhaps McConnell and his minions could add a line to the end of the 1040 forms asking if people would be willing to give $1.00 of their tax refund to such a fund? On a more serious note, you mention what this must be doing to Melania. It's bad enough he cheated. And I'm sure she has known all along that he is untrustworthy. But now her nose is being rubbed in it every single day. But what about his son? He is also suffering from this. And the base and Mitch and Paul and Orrin can't lavish enough praise on Trump. Trump provides the porn show. They do his advertising for him. Once this comes out, it will make Anthony Weiner seem like a boy scout.
2
The "Storm" we should be worried about is not Ms. Daniels, but the real and present danger posed by President Trump's denial of climate change. And our social habituation as a country - and world - to the threat of 15,000 nuclear weapons which could wipe us out in less than an hour. If we are not successful in managing these issues, there will be no one around to worry about this affair, or any other affair.
That is the real STORM that is coming. Better batten down your hatches. Store your water. And prepare to say goodbye to your children. It's on the way. This issue with Trump's personal life is minuscule by comparison.
1
Stormy and Putin seem to be in a special class...
2
For men like Trump and the deplorable underdogs who look up to him, "scoring" a porn performer are bona fide bragging rights. These are the men who go to strip clubs and call themselves Christians. Those are the woman who enable those reprehensible behaviors, like Melania, by perpetuating the submissive wife for money Faustian pact. Sad.
4
As far as I can tell, Donald Trump has been a detestable individual his entire life; a liar, a scam artist, a bully, a racist, a misogynist, and an ignoramus. If I were a woman and had engaged in an affair with Trump, I’d pay HIM to keep it quiet. Let’s not be distracted by this sideshow, we already know the leopard has spots.
3
The newspaper is giving him more credit than is due. He is a road side bully and as soon as he finds another bully he whimpers and cows down. Look at how he grovels before Putin, or Kim Jung or Xi JinPing.
3
When discussing the Don & Stormy, I keep think about Al Capone. A murdering, mobster was brought down and sent away for the trivial reason of not paying income tax. Trump is doing serious harm to America, but it is very likely his end come not from any of that, but rather for a trashy little affair with a porn actress. The only thing that will destroy him in the eyes of his followers is to show him as pathetic, sad little loser and who lousy with women and basically has to buy them.
3
Melania - my condolences. Hope you soon get the opportunity to shed your bonds. If and when you do, suggest your revert to your maiden name, get custody of Barron and change his last name also. Otherwise, he will be burdened with shame for his entire life. A sad situation.
2
Oh goody, gumdrops, let's get him, oh I am having trouble controlling my Schadenfreude’ I feel a great delight as I patiently wait and not unlike a falcon staring through a Venetian blind (think Charles Schumer for this image) I know my co 'commenters' will be issuing whoops of delight and high fiving all over their Museli at the thought of finally getting 'him' (Trump). This kind of one sided journalistic crowing has not been witnessed since Pravda that Russian broadsheet newspaper, formerly the official newspaper of the Communist Party.
The interesting thing about Donald Trump is like a very small child he always hides in plain sight. This is a man who lives in a world of his own making. He does not so much lie as he creates a reality to fit his needs. Listen to the Access Hollywood tape and you hear a man who believes the women he paws enjoy it. Replay his comments about the Parkland shooting, and you can imagine along with him how courageously he would have confronted the shooter, with or without a weapon. Having a voluptuous porn star fall for him underpins his fantasy that he is virile, attractive and invulnerable to rejection. He can no more relinquish that perspective than he can admit how few people came to his inauguration. My read on his not attacking Ms. Daniels has less to do with what the public, or even his wife, thinks of him and more to do with his precarious sense of self. Ultimately, his is a sad story.
1
Melania...now is the time to negotiate your settlement. Key negotiation point...continue to live in Maryland, pretend live in the White House for two more years...then bye dustbin Don.
Mr. Bruni fails to grasp the obvious reason why our Liar-in-chief never mentions Stormy: As soon as he opens his mouth about the porn star, he would start lying about her. His lies would be defamatory and actionable. She would sue him (once again), and she would then be able to tell her whole story because the alleged NDA would not bar her in such a legal proceeding.
It’s really quite simple—almost as simple as the President’s mind.
1
He doesn't say anything about her for the same reason that he doesn't say anything about Putin. They both know about his secret predilection....
He stays mum with nasty twitter tirades on both Stormy and Putin. Why these two?
How many ways could this president be compromised? Let me count the ways. Russia ties to Putin, Russia ties to oligarchs, Russia ties to Russian banks, The Dossier, Sexual harassment victims (how many??) , collusion, obstruction of justice, in bed with Fox and fighting the FBI and intelligence commnunity, Jared and Ivanka's multiple financial investments with Russia, China, Germany. And Now - Porn stars. He's not being blackmailed by them, he's blackmailing them, he's not a classic blackmail victim, BUT these folks have collateral on him - tapes, video, pictures, audio... he can be compromised by all of it. He is unfit for office and we must remove him from office.
Having spent time with Stormy he must realize that she is a lot smarter than him. And more dangerous. He is a known coward. Hence . . . .
There is one person off limits for Trump Tweeting besides kin. . . Putin.
There is another way to look at this. Trump is happy that the attention is being directed to Stormy and his other dalliances. That takes the spotlight away from his campaign's collusion with the Russians and attention to his finances. Those two may be connected in that he is obliged to the Russians not only for helping him win with their disinformation campaign on the web but also because he owes them millions and millions. Other reputable banks would not lend him money any more. The oligarchs and Putin have owned him since the beginning. A weird version of "The Manchurian Candidate". Mueller is relentless and will uncover it all. There have been plea deals already no doubt in exchange for evidence on higher ups. All roads lead to the Oval Office and Trump. It may be difficult to lay criminal charges against a president for deeds in office (I believe that is unsettled law), but he can be impeached. Trump can be charged for crimes before being elected. He is scared, and rightfully so. Thank God for Stormy.
1
Stormy will have an audience 2400 times the size of Trump's failed inauguration ceremony.
13
I don't know of anyone in public life who has been more clueless about his own vulnerabilities than the village idiot occupying the White House. How much longer can the US risk its future on the judgment of this fool?
19
I think Trump is probably afraid of the fidelity clause in his pre-nup with Melania.
17
Melania filing for divorce would be the Icing on the cake ... love it!
2
If they have a prenup (most likely they do), a man like Trump would have a specific clause that inoculates him against his infidelity - for him that is the whole reason to have a prenup!
What an incredible stroke of irony if by the end of this saga Trump gets sent to a penal colony by the winds of Stormy Daniels.
11
Trump by way of his conversation with Billy Bush and all the existing non disclosure agreements has literally been caught with his pants down on so many occasions. How in the world anyone with the ability to reason, read and listen can avoid those realities is beyond my understanding. He quite simply by this point in time lacks any real credibility on most any topic.
How in the world does his wife and family manage to ignore all that reality and still stand behind him? How long can he get away with taking advantage of and duping his family and the world? I personally can not imagine surviving in a world in which everyday begins with building new and maintaining old deceptions.
8
good point. i believe he is likely to end his own presidency. it is simply too public and too much work for this grifter. go huskies!
There is another possible explanation of Trump’s restraint: Trump’s belief that his base really (and secretly) admires him for this. He sleeps with whomever he wants, whenever he wants. That’s a man. (I wish I could do that!) The hypocrisy of his evangelical base is epic in proportion. Stormy Daniels (and Karen McDougal) are vehicles for him to cement his ability to have his followers ignore his transgressions and confirm their cognitive biases.
Brilliant!
11
Maybe there is a clause in his prenup with Melania that favors her if he is caught having affairs. Hence the hush money and refusal to acknowledge his accusers.
6
You may be on to something in there being a reason why he has so far refrained from tweeting about Ms. Daniels.
Trump has never been timid to tread into publicly uncharted moral or political territory, so his reluctance here is telling to say the least. He'll attack anybody for the most trivial or banal reason possible, he's proven that time after time.
To paraphrase Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Spock, "When you eliminate the impossible, what remains is a possible solution".
So, is it possible that he is aware of a physical threat that was made against Ms. Daniels by his functionaries, as has been reported by various media outlets?
That, my friends, would be a showstopper, even for a guy like Trump.
5
The NYT needs to write more about Stormy Daniels, Trump and Michael Cohen (MC). This is the big one – the one and only chance to get rid of Trump.
DT and MC are trying everything to stop Stormy. Everything. DT has joined the suit. DT and Co have moved Stormy's suit from the Superior Court in Los Angeles into the Los Angeles Federal Court. This is because they don’t want Stormy to benefit from California law on unconscionable NDAs. Cohen is threatening Daniels with twenty million in damages for breaking her NDA.
As I write, with 23 days to go, just $276,000 has been pledged by 8,672 people on Crowd Justice, towards the cost of Stormy pursuing the most important suit in the history of American civil litigation. This might seem a success. It's not. There are 7.4 billion humans on this planet each of whom will benefit from the departure from the world stage of DT and his minions. With DT gone, but not before, America will then settle the hash of Putin. With Putin neutered, Assad will flee Syria.
There are 326 million Americans who will be better off with DT gone. There are one hundred and seventy million American women and girls who will be better off. Millions of American women despise Trump. Despite this, almost none of them is prepared to help Stormy financially in her fight against the most powerful man on the planet. Stormy needs our help. Please don't let her down.
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stormy/
10
Is this a segway to 60 Minutes providing airtime to the 20-30 woman who claim he sexually abused them? This list includes women from the early 1980s to 2013.
Leslie Stahl has a group interview where they tell their stories. Gloria Allred provides her past insight into experience defending those who have been abused by others. The First Lady makes a cameo appearance to apologize for her clod’s oafish behavior.
This is a 30 share program. The ad dollars are a Super Bowl size revenue generator.
Trump resigns the next day.
6
Just think. This is one of the least odious episodes in Donald Trump's sordid history.
11
Sure, nothing in this world matter more than tax cuts to the rich, the stock market and a juicy sex apprentice story. Under Clinton we were respected all over the world and we had a budget surplus. Under Obama, we restored the economy wrecked by Bush and were respected everywhere except by the right. Good old days. Thanks, deplorables.
20
I wonder if Trump will wind up perjuring himself in civil court? And what happens then?
5
I'll go with "nothing," on that question. Perjury is weak sauce as a charge at that level. I guess it did get Clinton impeached, but he wasn't in serious danger of removal from office with 67 Senate votes so required. His trial was purely as embarrassment theater.
Trump also is adverse to criticizing or condemning Putin. What does this guy have on him that Trump would sell us out to a ruthless dictator criminal?
9
I don't begrudge Daniels her attempts to leverage money and fame out of her personal "session of congress" with Trump. More power to her. Let the chips fall where they fall. Donald has a careless, self-serving, sociopathic streak a mile wide and an inch deep...So, his chickens are coming home to roost. Rest assured he is squirming like a stuck pig...without squealing at the same time. Must be something to see.
3
As Amy Chua so aptly observes, it's political tribalism that drives the ConDon base's myopic perspective. sdcga161's comment about how adamantly ConDon's base jumps to defend and exonerate him and condemn his detractors is accurate; I see it in red enclaves of blue state cities like San Diego and among even very intelligent people around the US. Their ability to censor their reality is frightening and perplexing. Most Dems and liberals I know have the ability to view their leaders objectively, with both criticism and praise. Most of us can acknowledge that ConDon made one correct decision by blocking the sale of Qualcomm, for example. But his base really is different. The more outrageous and dangerous his behavior, the more they defend him. Perhaps they can't admit their mistake because of the sheer enormity of it. Ms. Daniels' assertions will only have consequence if campaign illegalities can be tied to them. Otherwise, it will simply be a continuation of this sad, sad circus.
4
There would be a certain poetic justice to a porn star causing the downfall of President David Dennison, aka Donald Trump.
Corruption, incompetence, ignorance, lack of morals and integrity hasn't done him in or bothered his base.
The reason Mueller is taking so long to put the nail in the coffin is that the amount of criminal activities is far bigger, more pervasive than anyone thought possible
11
I don't buy the theory that Trump's silence is protecting Melania from further hurt--- She's fiercely protective of Trump and he for once is taking his lawyer's advice to shut his mouth up! Melania is no innocent---As an former underwear model, she lived in the fast lane and cavorted with the Trumps of the world. She covered for him after the Access Hollywood tape dismissing his groping as "locker room talk." My guess is she has known of his infidelity from day one and doesn't want to rock the boat. She and Trump are a slick team. In the news world, the more of the five newsworthy elements in a story, the hotter it is -This one has all five: sex, fame, money, politics, proximity to where you live on the planet. An easy to understand gangbuster of a story that the public is gobbling up after the constant drumbeat of collusion news has left us weary and ready for a change. Consider Stormy a pause, a breather before Mueller strikes.
9
That last comment, about his hand, size, was uncalled for. More suitable for late-night comics.
3
This is all the Dems have left? Hilarious!
3
this is all you have left to say?
1
It continues to amaze me that people care about the impact on Melania. She knew what she was getting when she started seeing and eventually married the man: money. Holding her up as the suffering wife is ridiculous - anyone who thinks their marriage was based on love or other noble notions is a fool, anyone who cares about how she feels now is a bigger fool. I'm guessing (if she has any brains) that with each tawdry revelation she negotiates a new amendment to their pre-nup and a check gets written right away
11
Excellent essay Frank, making a point I never realized. When the twittersphere is dense as a black hole with Trumps' tweets, the pockets of vacuum are overlooked. His silence on Stormy speaks volumes.
4
The Classics IV sang in "Stormy" "Oh, stormy, oh, stormy, bring back that sunny day." Prophetic? Sure hope so.
1
We are witnessing a double standard on steroids. Imagine if Obama was caught on tape claiming that he can do anything he wants with women, including grabbing their genitals. Evangelicals would have raised the roof. But because Trump lies about being pro-life, he gets a mulligan on every repulsive utterance and every disgraceful behavior. As Mueller closes in on the corrupt world of Donald Trump, which includes colluding with Russia on election tampering, obstruction of justice by firing Comey, money laundering, and pathological lying, it may just take a Stormy Daniels to bring him down. Whatever it takes, it is imperative that, for the security of this country, Trump must go.
12
Black men grabbing white female genitals will always be a much greater cause for concern among some Americans than white men doing the same.
I'm sure there are many among my fellow countrymen who still think this New Yorker cover was an accurate portrayal of the Obamas rather than a parody:
https://media.newyorker.com/photos/59096c01c14b3c606c1074ca/master/w_145...
Where written " . . . even a president as unconventional as Trump", I'd offer instead the word "boorish" whose synonyms include "coarse, uncouth, rude, ill-bred, ill-mannered, uncivilized, unrefined, rough, thuggish, loutish."
Just for starters . . .
6
Michael Cohen approached Stormy Daniels not vice versa. MC demanded in that charming New York pseudo-tough-guy, intimidatory, slug-thug way of his that Stormy sign an NDA drawn up by MC.
Cohen then paid Daniels $130,000.
Recently, Cohen publicly revealed he had paid Stormy the $130,000.
Daniels has applied to the Superior Court in Los Angeles County for a declaration by the court that the NDA does not stop Daniels from disclosing what happened between her and Trump. Daniels has offered to repay the $130,000.
Daniels is not demanding any money – quite the opposite. The reckless assertion made by Trump supporters that Daniels is trying to extort Trump is absurd, therefore.
4
It's also pretty likely that Cohen's payment violated the NY State Courts's Rules of Professional Conduct. I'd love to see him get disbarred as a result of this.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/trump_attorneys_statement_stormy_...
If he used his own funds, that seems a pretty clear violation of Rule 1.8(e) which "prohibits attorneys from advancing or guaranteeing financial assistance to clients related to considered or pending litigation, with some exceptions for court costs."
"Facilitating" the payment, as Cohen describes his actions, may be a less obvious violation, but then he needs to tell us on whose behalf the payment was "facilitated" and where the money came from.
2
i would have preferred that ridiculing a disabled reporter, or insulting immigrants, or not disclosing taxes, or being held responsible for his countless lies, or finding moral equivalence between protestors and white supremacists, or general vulgarity, or obvious incompetence, etc, would have brought this buffoon down, but if it takes an enterprising porn star with the goods, i will certainly take it.
8
The concern over Mrs Trump is overstated, even if it was an endnote to Mr Bruni’s column. It was not that long ago another Times opinion writer pointed how Melania met Donald.
Coming to a party with one date, viewing Melania, dumping the old date, and “trading up” is not the romance of the century. It is simply a wealthy man who sought “eye candy” to parade before the public.
This does not even address what private agreements reached between Donald and Melania before the I Dos. Was there a prenup? Was getting Melania’s family to America part of the deal? Was a child demanded as proof of Donald’s potency?
In the past, presidents were a bit more circumspect. It is difficult for the president to present himself as the conscience and moral guide of a nation when the White House is so tainted.
But, a tragedy for Melania? No. By portraying her as some unknowing dupe to the lecherous machinations of an old man seeking affirmation for his manhood is not piteous.
Regardless how Stormy or McDougal plays out, the country is burden with an individual desperate to prove himself at whatever the cost. It is one thing to cry Fake News, but it’s an indication of someone who takes reckless actions without thought of consequences. For ordinary citizens, such behavior usually involves just a few people, but when a president has such tendencies the reverberations are national, and international.
It never ceases to amaze me that DT's sexual infidelities get so much more air time than the wholesale institutional destruction going on in plain sight. What he did with those women he's doing to us.
6
Ordinary people understand sex scandals. The Russia investigation causes their eyes to glaze over.
Actually, the only other person exempt from Trump's attacks is Vladimir Putin.
So are you implying that they also had "textbook generic" sex?
1
Everything is transactional with #45, including the numerous professional sex workers he's hired for himself, and the similar contractual relationship with his spouse. Melania is in it for the money, don't kid yourself. These people are a hideous sham of president and first lady. But they fit his base and they fit the evangelical following perfectly. Sinclair Lewis defined both exceedingly well in his novel, ELMER GANTRY.
3
There certainly are categories of persons exempt from Drumpf criticism: autocrats in general and chief autocrat and murderer of all the Russias in particular.
2
Maybe he doesn't mention the affair because it would trigger something in his prenuptial agreement with Melania. The way to hurt a wealthy man is through his pocket.
2
Once you drop that bowling ball on the car hood it’s all over.
1
The comments that reflect concern for Melania assume she cares about infidelity. I rather doubt it. In fact, I’d bet Trump’s flings provide relief that she doesn’t have to cater to his disgusting countenance.
5
That’s the problem. It’s the silence that has meaning. The rest is noise. We need to listen to the silence, pay it heed.
3
Stormy passed a lie detector test. Trump should take one also.
6
Trump would probably pass a lie detector test even when lying. Somebody like Trump who lies continuously wouldn't show the necessary changes in vital signs when he's lying. In fact, Trump might show changes in vital signs when he's telling the truth, assuming he even knows what truth is.
3
Sorry. Not possible. It would burst into flames.
3
It is disgusting that we are even talking about this.
Both Stormy Daniels and Vladimir Putin get the soft treatment from Trump. It’s like both have something on him, don’tcha think?
6
Trump better hope his hidden millions are enough. It won't be Stormy that breaks his bank, it'll be his settlement with Melania. Good luck to our fake president.
2
Better luck to Melania. She deserves anything she can extract from him.
The key to Donald Trump's surprising silence on Twitter may lie in just two words from the Stormy Daniels' legal filing:
"unprotected sex"
This may mean that she (or the president) contracted a venereal disease or, more interestingly, there may have been something far more sinister.
If - this is a big 'if' - there was a conception - did the child survive? Or - more consequential - did Stormy abort her baby?
This may be the roadmap to understanding Mr. Trump's sudden shyness.
NOT my president
3
Even for Trump's willfully ignorant supporters, it must be obvious that he would not have signed non-disclosure agreements with women he claims never to have known.
Why would anyone, even Trump or his lawyer, pay a substantial sum to suppress something that "didn't happen."
Res ipsa loquitur ("the thing speaks for itself"). The agreements and the payments prove that he knew these women, and of course he must have had something to hide.
3
Eventually, one or another of his affair mates may confess to having been coerced into terminating a pregnancy. Perhaps that uncrossable line (to them) will be the spark that finally awakens Evangelicals from their mesmerized sleepwalk of hypocrisy of endlessly condoning everything drumpf.
6
I read her 2011 interview and I think the answer to this one is clear: she threatened to describe his "junk" and talked about sex bring mediocre.
To a small-handed Trump, this is existential....
5
What about Stormy Daniels and her revelations will change anything? Everyone who is capable of being repulsed by Trump was repulsed long ago. Everyone who isn't already repulsed by him never will be. Unless he's done something illegal and prosecutable, isn't this all just titillation?
2
I am not a big TV watcher, but I may actually watch 60 Minutes on Sunday.
4
Stormy Daniels is the only Trump adversary to date who plays by the "He goes low, I can always get under that" philosophy. A Twitter fight between Trump and Daniels would end up like a double skunk fight... and Trump knows he can't tolerate being sprayed, at least on Twitter.
6
How many more "somethings" have to be discovered and revealed about Trump before Congressional Republicans cease to defend him or ignore the sad truth that he is not only a truly bad President but a seriously broken and corrupt person. Already a majority of the public opposes this unpopular President who lost the popular vote by 3 million legitimate votes and has only gone downhill in his approval rating and popularity since. The chants of "Do your job" shouted at legislators at rallies, demonstrations, and town hall meeting have new meaning as each new offensive revelation or outrageous action by Trump surfaces. It seems that only a change of party control in Congress can deliver us from this nightmare of an administration. Let us hope that electoral turnout this November is sufficient to begin to restore some responsibility, integrity, and honor to our federal government.
4
Let me know when I can stop respecting Trump's supporters.
2
Really enjoyed this one Frank...keep putting the fire to his feet
3
Further revelations will mean nothing to his base
1
The other person he never, ever attacks is Putin.
Could it be that both Putin and Stormy have the goods on him and he knows it?
4
Trump's behavior towards Daniels and Putin gives the impression, that they have overwhelming evidence of just how corrupt and vile he is. There is no other plausible explanation. Denial is a common ego defense mechanism, his silence is an indication of his fear. Donald Trump is in for the "narcissistic injury" of his life.
2
“Then there’s Melania.” She May have signed a prenup with a gag order among the provisions. A gifted lawyer well versed in contract law and prenups could nail Duffer Donald for breach of contract.
3
And is as silent about criticism of Stormy as he is about criticizing Putin. What’s the common thread here.
2
At this point Stormy should just spill the beans in a tell all book and porno tape. It is not as if she has $20,000,000 laying around to pay President Dennison - so what's another $1 million or $100 million added to the $20 million suit.
Besides, Mr. Miller, Mr. Dennison, Mr. Trump (and others?) should be more worried about what Putin and Mr. Mueller have on all of 'himselves".
2
It's now undeniably obvious that the so-called evangelicals who support Trump do not care one whit about the teachings of Jesus. Their primary concern is to win the cultural war over abortion and gay marriage. This is tribalism at its worst. No amount of lying, cheating, fraudulent business dealings, cruelty to public servants, cyberbullying, and destructive narcissism will dissuade them from their blind support of this despicable human being. This is a tragedy of epic proportions.
6
A great moment in Op-Ed headline writing.
1
Memo to Trump : DONT CALL STORMY DANIELS AND CONGRATULATE HER !
6
Trump calls the women who say they were abused by him liars . Stormy is not accusing him of abuse. sSe is basically blackmailing him about an affair. The press should stop facilitating Stormy and her news hog attorney and spend more time with the women who have truly been harmed by this man.
People who still support Trump deserve moral condemnation and public humiliation. Trump is an immoral opportunist, but he can't get away with his behavior unless others condone it or overlook it for whatever their reasons.
Republicans believe they are using Trump to get what they want. They think it is okay to do so. Would they condone and protect him if he did shoot someone on 5th Ave. as he claimed he could without losing supporters? I believe so. They are despicable. They must go.
2
So let's get this straight, Barack Obama famously had no real scandals during his administration, has a loving wife and is extremely happily married. Trump has had three wives, multiple affairs and scandal after scandal. Family values, the Right? Really? What is most shameful about this whole thing for this country is that hypocrisy. The hate by the Right for Barack Obama and their loving embrace of Trump, cannot be explained. I am not the vindictive type, but I really want Republicans to pay electorally and to have done to them exactly what they have done to us. Two wrongs don't make a Right, but hopefully they will make a Left.
Can't be explained? It's as clear as black & white to me. As I'm sure it is to most of the 'con man in chief's' supporters.
‘Obama had ‘no real scandals,’ you say? I guess you forgot about the time he wore a tan suit (aka Suitgate).
1
The whole notion that Trump is some mentally unstable person who has out of control early morning and weekend Twitter tantrums and tirades is ridiculous. Trump and Twitter were meant for each other - the world in 280 character bursts of fake outrage and cyber-bullying (the pathetic and shameless Melania’s first “lady” issue while being married to the shameless and biggest cyber-bully in the world). Trump uses and abuses Twitter to his fully calculated, ruthless advantage. He knows that a Twitter war with Stormy Daniels would benefit her far more than him, so he stays silent about her on Twitter in a fully disciplined and calculating manner. But he has unleashed a very well organized and frequently used (there are an untold number of Stormys is his life) mafioso lawyers to pay off, physically threaten and silence Stormy Daniels (and dozens of other women, many of whom he sexually assaulted).
So Bruni, as he often does, gets it wrong. Trump may not be using Twitter to attack Stormy (because he know that will not work), but he is attacking her using his well oiled (though nonetheless incompetent) consigliere lawyers and his fake news partners (tabloids like Enquirer and state propaganda like Fox News).
The one person Trump never attacks and will never attack on Twitter or any other media, forum or means is Putin. Trump only has praise and admiration for Putin, as Putin revives the Soviet Union and attacks America and the West.
Now that is what speaks volumes.
1
If Melania left him now, it'd be the end of his presidency. His support would vanish. No doubt he's got her under contractual lock and key, with promises of far greater riches if she holds out til the end of his term. But what an earthquake that'd be. She'd sink him! What a legacy for her! Is she deep enough for that? How close is she to it?
What intrepid reporter or confidante can tell us?
1
No president was a saint. What about the dalliances of Roosevelt, Kennedy, and don’t forget Clinton — all Democrats. The people knew exactly what we were getting with the thrice-married, access hollywood-stained Trump. No matter, we were choosing someone to fix the country, not a saint. And when did the liberal elite suddenly change — to be puritanical about sexual morality. What happened to their it’s ok ideology of consenting adults, premarital sex, homosexuality, abortion... well, now we have Trump. The good Lord has a sense of humor.
"Filthy shades of orange"--great line!
Many presidents have had extramarital affairs, but people kept mum about them. But Trump himself and his overweening vanity can't comply with commonly accepted couth--that's for "other people."
Let Stormy cut him down to his true size! Maybe his base will be awakened.
1
I don't feel bad for Melania at all. She knew what she was getting herself into. What I think is great about this is that the evangelicals will have their noses rubbed in what a philandering, adulterous jerk the man they voted into office is. More women (and there are more, surely) need to come forward and this needs to continue for as long as it needs to to make some of those suburban evangelical white women realize they voted for the man of their nightmares. Meanwhile, Dotard Drumpf will hopefully be distracted enough by this to not focus 100% on the Mueller investigation which will hopefully continue to its inevitable conclusion. Drumpf likes the color orange, I think he'll look great in an orange jumpsuit.
2
Why no railing against Stormy Daniels? I think it's chivalry toward a lady.
There is no calm here, even if there is a Stormy and a Summer accompanying the winter of our discontent with America's unnatural disaster of a president. Whether the country can weather all of this remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Stormy and Summer usually precede Fall, and a fall appears to be increasingly in the forecast for Donald Trump.
5
Having just checked out videos of Stormy, I can honestly say that the lady is talented and versatile. If she says "textbook generic," I think she knows what she is talking about! I hope I live long enough to see the mini-series about life in the Trumpian White House.
3
I'd expect Trump to be boasting loudly about these women, how he provided them with the best sex of their lives. And it seems the kind of behavior his supporters, timid men like Ryan and McConnell, would intensely admire in their hero.
1
A sorrowfully positive consequence of Trump's malignantly narcissistic, if not sociopathic, antics is that Republicans will no longer be able to throw critical punches at democrats for "unpresidential" behavior: sexual assaults, rampant infidelity, self-serving business practices, unfufilled promises, indulgently abusive speech, and pathological lying are now par for the presidential course, so unless Trump's GOP enablers wish to reveal a gargantuan hypocrisy, they'll have to maintain an undignified silence on their political rivals' boys-will-be-boys-crimes.
1
Of course we have been here before. Bill Clinton matches Trump is sexual exploits, in fact, he committed serial adultery while in office. We know from insider accounts that Monica was not the only tryst that occurred in the White House between 1993 and 1999. By today's standards, Clinton should have been driven out of the White House on a handrail. Instead, he received a standing ovation at the United Nations, the Democrats refused to impeach him in the Senate, and the public gave him wide approval as he left office.
Trump is somewhat different. 90 percent of what Clinton did wrong was related to his sexual addiction.
For Trump, as Frank Bruni pointed out in his usual cogent manner, there doesn't seem to be a low point he can't jump over. He is a truly disturbed and despicable personality inhabiting the oval office. One of his recent sycophants, Hugh Hewitt, called Trump a cancer on the Republican Party (before his sycophancy). Nothing could be truer, except to expand the metaphor.
1
Trump shouldn't worry. This stuff with Stormy is nothing. Don't believe me, the evangelical Christians are, at least most of the flock and ALL of the preachers, are still solidly behind this "model Christian". After all, we are all sinners even though some sins cost $130,000!
SAD!
Another reason: Can you imagine what middle-school classmates of Barron are saying to him about Stormy? Melania is now humiliated in front of their son; this she did not sign up for. Of course Barron will someday very likely follow in DJT’s footsteps... just like Don Jr., who stopped speaking to his father when he was in middle school and his Dad and Marla Maples were all over the papers. And so it goes.
2
Democrats are also willing to give their guy a pass - I don't know anyone who isn't voting for Cuomo, repellant as he is, corrupt as they acknowledge him to be. It's the exact same argument they make: look at the alternative.
1
I am a bit embarrassed that I am following Trump’s “entertainment tonight” scandals. I do think it is a bit funny, while all his other improprieties, poor decisions, and incompetence continue to slip by the wayside everyday, the women don’t seem to go away!
I have been saying for over a year, I think that it will be the women who take this guy down.
In the counter-suit Cohen filed against Daniels, the plaintiff is listed as “Donald J. Trump, a.k.a. David Dennison”. That sure appears to me, to be an admission of hush money that was spent on Trump’s behalf. Pretty dumb move on Cohens part, I would imagine. And then the issue of 20 separate $1 million breeches on a contract that was worth only $130K. We’ll see.
Maybe "Teflon Don" is not so non-stick, after all. It must be getting pretty lonely in the White House.
He should have remained a real estate mogul on 5th Ave, in his own sheltered world, and spared our country from his chaos and the embarrassment he is. Be VERY careful what you wish for. It may just bite you!
3
Is this the National Enquirer? I notice that CNN is fawning all over the Kennedys in a special or series (I see bits at the gym, I don't bother to own a TV myself) are my liberal fellows demanding the focus be on JFK's betrayal of his wife and womanizing, JFK the devout Catholic?
You see how that works? Everybody has dirty laundry. Every iota of energy wasted carping about Trump's playboy lifestyle just helps the GOP win in 2020. So do us all a favor and leave the tabloid stuff to the tabloids, please.
2
In my lifetime, I have been “politically aware” of Presidents starting with Harry Truman, back around 1950, when I was 11. I’ve liked some more than others, but politics aside, I’ve always asked: Is he decent? Is he trustworthy? Donald Trump is such a blatant vulgarian, and such an obvious huckster (as Michael Bloomberg said), that I grit my teeth every time I get up in the morning, turn on the computer, and scan the headlines. My deepest fear is that, because of his own psychological defects (and need to make himself the center of every story), he is going to precipitate a crisis that will lead to lead to a nuclear war. I also worry about the long range effect of a president who’s such a proven liar. I’m concerned that he’s going to do lasting damage to our economy, our international reputation, and—speaking more generally— to the nation’s psyche. Truman, Ike and Kennedy were real presidents. This guy is an interloper who got in by accident, and who really doesn’t belong. He belongs in a fictional movie script illustrating what can go wrong in the American system, and how a shallow demagogue can end up in the Oval Office. I look forward to the day when we can bid him goodbye, and return the White House to someone who’s reasonable and honorable, even if there are policy differences. “Character is destiny,” said the philosopher. As long is this man occupies the Oval office, our national destiny is uncertain, and that is downright scary.
5
Trump committed adultery with Stormy Daniels at Lake Tahoe when Trump was a state-citizen and/or resident of the State of New York. Daniels was a state-citizen and resident of Texas at the time so the criminal law of the State of New York had no jurisdiction over Daniels' conduct.
Adultery is a crime if you're a state-citizen or resident of the State of New York.
Hence, as a state-citizen and resident of New York, Trump committed the crime of adultery in Lake Tahoe, being married at the time of his adultery with Stormy to Trump's third wife, Melania.
255.17 Adultery.
A person is guilty of adultery when he engages in sexual intercourse with another person at a time when he has a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse. Adultery is a class B misdemeanor.
1
I read yesterday that the Weinstein organization has released all who may have had them from non disclosure agreements. IQ45 is pressing a suit against Stormy over her NDA with him.
I had never thought that a Hollywood production company would occupy higher ground than the Whitehouse.
One would think that the Evangelicals would be advocating for Trump's demise so that they could get Mike Pence installed as president. Pence is, afterall, one of their own, his gay bunny notwithstanding. Will the Evangelicals suddenly discover their morals and values at some point in the future and assure a Pence presidency?
1
I sure hope that the VP and his wife are following all of this and that they have a serious discussion as to why if Trump is guilty deserves to go to prison and not be confined to Trump Tower. How that man who claims to be as religious as he is could possibly pardon what has to be one of the most despicable humans this country has ever produced is unconscionable.
2
"He confessed to the superstition that he’d lose his wealth if he changed his custard-swirl hair."
Does he envision himself as Samson or Goliath?
1
Plaintiffs lawyers unless they are doing pro bono, avoid cases that in their estimation don't make financial sense.
And women, especially those most open to social disdain, don't endure ongoing public humiliation umless they are protecting others, especially their children.
I would mot be surprised to discover that Stephsnie Clifford and Melania Knauss have similar protective instincts.
"Apart from his own kin, there’s no category of person exempt from Donald Trump’s attacks."
Except Vladimir Putin.
"But when has Trump ever played the tempered pacifist before?"
With Vladimir Putin.
"But diatribes are his norm. Deviations from them may hold more meaning."
Like the failure to ever have one over Vladimir Putin.
2
he he... great title, timely!
1
Reading these numerous Comments, one may come to the satisfactory
conclusion that all forthcoming Elections will be won in LANDSLIDES
by the Opposition.
However, the sobering cognition is that NYT Readers are not Trump
Voters.
May God enlighten the Electorate and may the Opposition finally
present Candidates which are not only capable of Office, but also
morally sound.
1
Maybe it’s as simple as Stormy got pregnant and he urged her to have an abortion. They did have unprotected sex according to lie detector test and her lawyer said there was no paternity issue. I think that might give those Evangelicals pause.
I appreciate the lightness of your prose Frank. But, of course, Trump deserves far harsher treatment in the press.
On the one hand many if not most of our Presidents were all too human and dallied with mistresses if not prostitutes. If this underscores Obama's integrity as a leader and a man so be it. Obama had character, intelligence, and was a shining example of what America could be.
On the other, Trump is a creature fully devoid of a moral compass. His consistent and ongoing (probably) series of affairs is small potatoes compared to his deregulation of the United States in favor of the very rich and to the detriment of the rest of the planet really.
Trump is an Autocrat and wants nothing more than a lifelong dictatorship with nary a care for whether anything of value survives in The United States or the world. He's a user.
And so, we come full circle....it may just take a Stormy to pull him under. Let us hope.
1
If he ever gets around to suing all the women he claims have told lies about
him, the White House will need to install revolving doors to handle the comings and goings of all the lawyers who are going to be visiting him.
1
Bruni - I can't wait to see the 60 Minute interview this Sunday and then wait for Twitter to explode due to The Donald.
PLEASE, someone set "the button" secretly on pause, as we could all feel his rath. And it is coming.
The Storm is coming. Can't wait!
This would be the perfect time for Melania to renegotiate her prenup.....
I suggest: $200M to stay through 2020. $500M if there is a 2nd term. Then, can walk out, cash out, and be totally free and clear. And a maximum 4 year limit on the non-disclosure period.
It's going to be a Stormy Summer!
3
You seem to find it strange that Donald Trump does not write abusive tweets about Stormy Daniels.
Good grief, Frank, can't a poetic soul cherish a woman's memory? I mean, really.
1
How does Melania feel about this issue? I'm inclined to believe that she is desperately trying to shield her son, Barron from the public shame and disgusting behavior of his father.
He attends a private school, but private schools are where some bullies are as we learned about his father's time in private schools. How does a boy defend himself and a father when the bullies attack?
When Bill became embroiled with 'that woman' and eventually impeached, it had to be a terrible time for Chelsea. She was just a kid like Barron.
It is the children who often suffer when their parents do something sleazy and shameful. They have no defense against the bullies.
"Thou shall not commit adultery" - unless it comes with huge tax breaks for the rich and the appointment of Supreme Court Justices. (But don't worry Evangelicals - God will forgive you. Maybe?)
2
When the Donald goes silent on something he’s speaking with more clarity than when he opens his mouth.
Trump deserves the humiliation of rejection and impeachment - and it would be so beautiful for the majority of us to witness.
2
I look forward to Stormy's television tell-all.
"There is no category of person exempt from Donald Trump's attacks."-- There is of course Putin.
As president Bartlet's press secretary C. J. Cregg, played by Allison Janney proclaims in one episode with the focus on one of the characters, said he had a "zipper problem." Our current orange headed one certainly has that problem. And what do his evangelical fans say: "you are forgiven." That is like the killer confessing to a priest telling priest that he has killed someone. The priest says count you beads and say a few prayers and you are forgiven. Really?
I say to those evangelicals, isn't adultery a sin?
3
The saddest part of all this stormy stuff that happens is that it largely lies in the eyes of the political beholder.
Does anyone in their right or left mind think Bill Clinton's moral abberations happened only when he was in office? The same is true for Trump. The addicted don't easily mend their ways.
Frank, it's tragic alright, but it's tragic on the left too. My, oh my, does it sell ad time and newspapers.
There we go, that's the whataboutism right on schedule. Are you aware that no Clinton resides in the white house right now, and has not for a generation?
Let's keep the focus on the problem in the White House, shall we? When we are doing a retrospective of presidents in some historical show, then perhaps we could have charts showing the relative failings of the last five presidents. Trump will manage to tick every category.
9
You forget that Clinton was impeached. And now, all we hear are crickets from the Hill.
Last I checked Bill Clinton wasn't president anymore. Thanks for the insights though.
1
Is it possible that Stormy and the other women believed ready to come forth with their own revelations will be the undoing of Mr. Trump before Mueller? There are sill people who have minimum standards of behavior, a bottom line of moral expectations from elected officials. And I am reminded by lawyer friends that this standard is violated not so much by the bedroom frolics of yesterday but far more by the Watergate-style payments of hush money using nefarious but very amateurish third-party hacks. Beware, Mr. Trump, of the Common Cause litigation. You are in their crosshairs.
9
You point to my greatest fear, that “minimum standards” and moral expectations” no longer exist. One would expect to see that, at a minimum from, the evangelical community, but no. And forget about those who espouse “family values” as their (allegedly) guiding light. We’ve now learned that those who have spent years moralizing and going apoplectic over the peccadilloes of progressive candidates, not only lack minimum standards or moral expectations when it comes to Trump (the poster child for vulgar, immoral and misanthropic behavior), they have raised hypocrisy to a new art form. Trump has proven that whatever minimum standards and moral expectations should exist in politic, simply don’t. It’s a brave new world, folks. Let’s hope we can change it once this nightmare is over.
Goo good column. I find myself curious about Ms. Daniels. I hope everyone has stumbled her give as good as you get Twitter replies to the horrible men who try to troll her. Ms Daniel has a refreshing and wicked sense of humor. Some of these guys take down their tweets after Ms. Daniel skewers them. It is hilarious and you cannot stop reading them. I am tempted to get Twitter account just to follow her. I think her sense of humor may frighten Trump. He does not have a sense of humor only a deep reservoir of grievance and bile and grievance can stand up to a talent for mockery and someone who refuses to take herself seriously. Trump has met his match indeed!
The Twitter exchange goes like this:
1) a Twitter gross troll to Ms. Daniels
2) the Daniel hilarious put down
3) a series of tweets from Ms Daniels admirers, usually women but not exclusively women. The women often say they want their children to emulate Ms. D.
4) a gracious thank you tweet from Ms D. to her Twitter fan.
Trump may fear that gracious trait as well. Honestly Trump is a Twitter coward compared to her. I admit it is Twitter strange but you cannot look away. Ms D is a great comic. She should have done standup. Rock on Ms. D! You are a refreshment in these dried-up terrible times.
5
Why does anyone think the Steele dossier is false?
14
I suspect there are two things that would mortify Trump. First, someone saying he is a dud instead of a dude in bed. The second, he is no billionaire. He is in debt from here to eternity and scrambles for cash. Trump's whole life is a facade on a vacant lot.
Funny, isn't it, that he fears having his "hair" cut. He must think he is some kind of Samson.
21
Trump is incapable of feeling shame.
'The calm before the stormy' how sniggering and blush making is that and so redolent of the school playground. No doubt your comments contributors will
hurrah this as if it was some Hamlet type apercu.
How journalists stumble in their endeavours to be sapient (wise). There is that pose of objectivity into which journalists habitually, almost mechanically, fall into when they write. The ‘I’ of journalism is a kind of ultra-reliable narrator and impossibly rational and disinterested person, whose relationship to the subject more often than not resembles the relationship of a judge pronouncing sentence on a guilty defendant.
In their overarching yearning for certainty, journalists merely replicate the intolerance and taste for indoctrination that the profess to despise; Trump/deplorables et al. Why not leave things our i.e Trump hatred. this when enacted can be done to great effect.
The language used in your post is very rarefied and in some cases risible, such as the misuse of the word "sapient", which you recognized a definition using a more appropriate word. I could not discern your point, aside from ridiculing this columnist and his readers.
Thank you for this post, I'm going to use it in the sub Reddit "IAmVerySmart".
1
What if Trump still has a soft spot for Daniels? What if he is still looking for her approval? That's what many men do when they attempt physical intimacy. Sure the physical might feel good for a few minutes. But the real unconscious objective is the admiration of an "attractive" woman.
I don't think we should give Trump too much credit for strategy. Yes, he got elected by using the media cleverly. But he is also committing political suicide - every day.
And will we pity the "forever tainted" once he has completed his spiral dive to an approval rating below 25%? Not this patriot. The new "black list" will be red.
Remember, it wasn't Nixon's crime that got him. It was the coverup.
3
Bob, that is an interesting theory, but it does not match the overwhelming body of evidence that Trump has given us which shows he doesn't care about anyone's approval, especially not that of women. They are temporary objects to gain power over, pleasure himself, and then discard.
2
He also hasn't mentioned Karen McDougal yet (far as I know). And she is lined up right behind Stormy in hurricane alley. I hope Bruni is right-- if Irma and Maria didn't get him, maybe these will. And then, maybe, they'll be naming one of the 2018 tycoon typhoons Melania.
2
"But when has Trump ever played the tempered pacifist before?" When he is scared. Ask Putin?
6
"It could say that he has more discipline than he gets credit for, and that instead of a mad, lonely king ranting in his castle, he is actually a profoundly flawed tactician playing his own pale version of chess."
Sorry, but I wouldn't give Trump this kind of credit - chess is a game of experience, skill and intellect, and Trump has none of these things. Those "salvos against Mueller" were nothing more than a product of the dark impulses that drive him - there isn't any logic to anything he does, which I thought would have become obvious to the media by now. It's all about what he sees on Fox, what the last person who spoke to him said and whatever pops into his head. A recipe for disaster if there ever was one.
7
Frankly, I don't really care much about what Stormy might reveal. But, I sincerely hope that Stormy remains a front and center headline right up through the upcoming elections. While she does so, I hope that she wreaks havoc on the validity of ND's imposed by the powerful upon those less powerful.
6
I started reading this hoping the title hinted at developments in the Mueller investigation of unethical and illegal campaign activities . . . alas, not. I find it sad that the public and the press are more interested in the Politicaster's allegedly salacious sex life (although the description of "textbook generic" sex rebuts that) than in the rank corruption of the man and his administration. Other than as further evidence of his venality and dishonesty, the adulterous affair with Daniels should be only a tiny blip on a political radar screen otherwise filled with disastrous collisions and crashes. Silence about Daniels? What about silence about Putin's corruption followed by praise for Putin's sham election? That's the more important issue!
2
One thing is obvious - Trump is completely outmatched, outwitted and, hopefully, about to be undone by Stormy and the other women who have spoken out again about his predatory behavior in recent days. The publicity he craves so much will come back to haunt him.
5
There are published articles that suggest that there is a pre-nuptial agreement signed by Melania and the Donald that provides that if Donald commits adultery the restrictions on what money Melania would receive were they to divorce would cease to apply. If true, because Trump values his money more than anything or anyone, this coul explain his tactics regarding Stormy.
Also, based on Trump's standard operating procedures, there is probably a non-disclosure provision in their agreement that prevents Melania from ever disclosing anything said between them, anything done by Trump, or ever saying anything disparaging about him. Their love must be a many splendored thing.
1
What about the impact that this whole sad circus must have on the younger son?
Must the son pay such a high price for the sins of the father?
1
I agree it's very sad for Baron, but people of mature and moral character would have considered the effect of their actions on the children prior to having affairs/running for president/tweeting without giving thought to its consequences.
7
You want to know the answer? Ask a dreamer.
2
Melania has given her speech on combating cyber bullying against "children". Notice the emphasis on "children". She is parsing her words regarding the problem and needs to realize that her big, loud, obnoxious, twitter-happy hubbys' own twitter bullying must be having an effect on their child. Baron is innocent but chances are he is being targeted on twitter as well because of what is father is doing to others.
3
A female friend of mine is a strong Trump supporter, but she's an even stronger Melania fan! She's placed the First Lady on a pedestal, and bristles at the slightest insult to her or her child, Barron. I would guess that the reason for this adulation is because the former model looks great, wears expensive clothes and is a mom, like herself--nothing much more than that...and, oh, she shares the same gender.
That was before Stormy came along. Now, like Trump, she's unusually silent on the affair. Daniels presents a real problem. I believe my friend is like many Trump voters of the fair sex: it's OK to blame the fake news media for attacks on the wife, but what if the guilty party is, without question, the husband?
Poor things...my friend and Melania. These are difficult times. I have the feeling this latest "Storm" in Trump's life isn't going to end well for either one of them.
6
Add into that mix a hefty helping of yellow-bellied cowardice. President Trump does not give press conferences because he does not want to hear the hard questions journalists may pose to him (much less answer them). He does not meet with the public except in highly scripted and restricted settings, for fear that he may be confronted or need to explain himself. All that you need to know about the character of the man is that he makes policies, fires advisers and cabinet members, and engages with the public, through the one-sided mouthpiece of Twitter. Take this away and the President has no clothes.
6
I like the phrase, "a mad, lonely king ranting in his castle". One thinks of Macbeth, except that the analogy does not extend to Melania. The witches who seduced Mr. Trump would be his "base": the voters who cheered as he insulted his way through the election debates. How could Birham Wood possibly come to Washington, DC?
"He sits on his Twitter hands. They’re big ones, by the way. Just ask him." What a cheap shot, Mr. Bruni. As some have pointed out the mainstream press never obsessed over JFK's sexual escapades, but reporting by the press has changed a lot since then. Now it is all 100% one-sided. I don't really see why anyone has any interest in hearing what a Stormy type Daniels thinks or says, some people will do anything for a buck.
The salient question is not why journalists are so interested in hearing from Daniels but rather why Trump and his lawyers are so desperate to keep journalists--and the rest of us--from hearing from her. They are the ones spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on what she has to say, the ones who apparently have a profound interest in the content of her revelations. Why? Yes, I agree that Trump's policy damages to this country should take center stage, but it's Stormy that he and his lawyers are worried about--they're worried about Daniels far more than are the students fighting for sensible gun laws or the farmers protesting the tariffs or environmentalists protesting the destruction of the planet or consumer advocates protesting the gutting of consumer protection. None of these people are fixated on Daniels, yet Trump and his lawyers are. Why? What are they so afraid of?
9
JFK didn't go on Howard Stern or any similar program to brag about his escapades, either.
79
"Mr. Bruni" is just quoting Mr. Trump. How is that a cheap shot?
It's not "reporting" that has changed - it's the culture. It was "all 100% one-sided" for Harvey Weinstein and his ilk until recently...
Should we go back to not caring about how some men treat women?
4
We might be allowing ourselves to be let astray here somewhat. Considering some of the recent histories of this office, the hypocrisy of using Trumps former sexual life in order to attack his character is a bit too much, not to mention a risky gamble in the unprecedented volatility of our current political climate.
Uh. Hello? Clinton’s escapades were laid bare for all to see as the result of an independent prosecutor he couldn’t fire, were the subject of incessant news commentary, and led directly to impeachment proceedings for lying about it. What hypocrisy are you talking about?
If Trump is convicted and the republicans fail to take any action, is there anything in the constitution that would prevent him from remaining President whilst in jail. Maybe the could reallocate some of the wall and put it around the White House and convert it into a jail.
1
Every trump supporter in the country needs to sit their children down in front of the tv when the segment is aired, make them take their ear buds off and pay attention.... then..at the end of the program .. explain to their kids just what it is about mr t that they find so special, so alluring... so presidential.
3
I am tired of this system--its unfathomable concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, its inability to provide ordinary people with a decent living, or solve any of our myriad problems, its endless and meaningless distraction. The pattern is so predictable, and it's been that way for the last 25 years, at least. Please, no more "scandals." There will be another "scandal" the day after this one, and the next, and the next, and the next. How does this change anything? How does this help me the vast majority of us who are suffering greatly? How does this useless pattern end when the next billionaire-backed candidate is "elected" to office? Am I to believe that anything Daniels says will change our current situation with Donald J Trump? And even if it does, how horrifying and depressing is that? Your opinion writers are so thoughtful, and such wonderfully talented wordsmiths, but I hate to break it to you: These little novellas of personal grit you dish out every week are not changing anything. On the contrary, they play the integral role of Apocalyptic steam-blowing, keeping suffering citizens occupied in a frenzy of fake hope that tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, the grand change will come. Except it won't, because it never does.
7
"little novellas of personal grit"......great phrase!
The criminal law of the State of Delaware states that it is an offence to create an LLC for the purpose of committing an offence. It is an offence under the criminal law of most jurisdictions in the USA, including New York, Delaware and California, and under US federal law, to try to conceal any offense committed by any person after the event. Hence, Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen(MC)has committed an offence.
If Trump knew that MC intended to create an LLC in Delaware, and/or entice PP, and each of the four other persons, to enter into a NDA to conceal Trump's adultery, still an offence in NY State, then Trump committed the federal offense of conspiracy, and of obstruction if Trump was being investigated at the time for any other reason.
When Trump lied publicly at the end of January 2018 that he had not committed adultery with PP, then Trump tried to obstruct the Mueller investigation into conspiracy and obstruction.
This is because the Steele Dossier alleges that Trump committed adultery with one or more persons in St Petersburg or Moscow. If Trump has a history of adultery in any jurisdiction, making him open to blackmail, then these are facts that Mueller will want to investigate further. Hence, if Trump claims publicly in Jan 2018 that he had not committed adultery in 2006, at the time an offence in NY State, then Trump is trying in 2018 to obstruct Mueller's investigation.
4
In a rare moment of weakness, when I find myself tempted to feel the least bit sorry for Donald Trump, I simply remember the women that he dragged out and paraded in front of the cameras before the Presidential Debate, the sole purpose being to humiliate Hillary Clinton.
Donald Trump deserves every bit of this, and I hope the Stormy Daniels story never, EVER goes away.
17
Billionaires have their choice of women. So what else is new? Neither of these women worked for him or under him. Trump is likely to get reelected. The issue we need to worry about is our defense budget and our economy....the one constantly increasing and the other constantly sinking.
1
Don't forget the debt... It's also on track to be enormous - the greatest ever.
1
He will not be re-elected. He won't even finish out this term.
1
Personally I agree with you, however the general public, watching TV "reality" shows and thinking they are reality, need gossip, sex, and sensationalism to change their minds.
While Donald Trump's political demise before his tenure ends -whether it comes from Robert Mueller or Stormy Daniels - is much to be hoped for, his potential replacements are a less than inspiring lot. The sanctimonious, sycophantic Mike Pence would do little to restore confidence or credibility to the Office of President. And the Speaker of the House, who has inexplicably lot his spine along with his integrity somewhere along the way, wouldn't be any better. It's an altogether depressing situation.
9
Knock 'em down, one at a time; don't give up.
Au contraire mon cher. Trump is extremely proud of his sexual prowess--as evidenced by the Access Hollywood tape. He cannot be shamed
We witnessed the reality that a great % of his supporters aren't bothered in the least by his behavior and attitude. For him, the truth about his actual wealth and the honesty of his businesses has the greatest potential for the undermining of his stature as his supporters have often indicated their support for a successful businessman. This explains his much more vociferous response to the Muller investigation.
1
What remains of significance here is way beyond the salacious details, the sordid hypocrisy of the man who , when convenient, professes to be the defender of morality and champion of the Evangelical Right. The issue is the contrived methodology of the attempts to silence his paramours, paying them off and then trying to cover all of those transactions up.More attention needs to be focused on his attorney, Michael Cohen, who went through very contrive methods to pay off Ms. Daniels.A Home Equity loan? A shell company in Delaware? Come on now,he knew exactly what he was doing to cover his tracks and it smacks of Campaign violation!
When the lewdness and exposure of the consensual women wears off one can only hope that those women who were abused against their will will be given their day in court.The connection of trump to Jeffrey Epstein, the 19 women accusers all need to be brought forward.
4
Thanks, Frank. Please keep on writing about your thoughts, ideas, and concerns about America. I for one depend on you to express in your columns the thoughts, ideas, and concerns I cannot express remotely as well as you.
1
There are 2 reasons why Trump remains silent in any given situation that might be considered troublesome for him: (1) He is actually proud of the bad behavior ascribed to him and it is not prosecutable (e.g., Access Hollywood), or (2) He knows what dirt the other party has on him (e.g., Putin). He continues to attack Mueller because Mueller does not fall into either category and he wants to stop him before gets to the dirt. Stormy Daniels, on the other hand, falls into both categories.
1
About Ms. Clifford: what could she possibly have to tell that is damaging to Trump? So, they had an affair. Trump's supporters and enablers long ago accepted that. What could she possibly say that moves the needle at all? The hush money payment to her may have violated election laws, but again, since when did any of his supporters or enablers care about his financial misdeeds? I have learned that NO AMOUNT OF SCANDAL AT ALL will bring down Trump. He must be treated as a regular politician that made big promises and then failed to deliver the goods, and then he loses at the voting booth. No amount or severity of corruption will bring him down, or it would have already. Clifford should save her breath and the nation's time unless she has something really big. Might one of you learned and informed people speculate on that for me? Assuming that the affair is garden variety politician-caught-cheating, what else could be here that could truly damage Trump?
1
i can only speculate that a child is involved. I think that might put Melania over the edge and give her legal grounds to divorce with enough money to take care of her son forever.
A divorce in office on those grounds ( given Melania's public approval ratings not to mention the pity of most US women) could be a fatal blow to a presidency so seriously flawed in every other way.
Just my thinking at the moment.
I wonder if part of the agreement was not only that Stormy had to keep silent about the affair, but Trump as well. And as such he doesn't want to violate the agreement as that would invalidate it. And then the flood gates open.
2
Stormy may be scintillating talk for headliners and columnists, but if the grab the kitty bus talk didn't sink Trump candidacy, why would Stormy sink Trump presidency?
Instead, the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica connection is a much bigger deal why this is an illegitimate administration. Even if there is no direct involvement evidence - Trump not wanting his name on all those non disclosure settlements has suggested he is smart enough not wanting to get his own tiny hands dirty - it is so tainted that the Republicans will have to respond or they are at risk for not just 2018 and 2020 but beyond.
Remember, Trump's modus operandi is this: every of his outrageous act is just a coverup of an even worse revelation, ad infinitum. However, how much do people, especially the Republicans, can go to defend without actually causing serious damage to America - and the world - like trade wars and even actual wars?
9
I never understood how any woman would vote for him including wife and daughter ( in pale retribution for being unfaithful and for having "authorized" Stern to refer to Ivanka in a lewd way), so it makes sense that more women are not voting his way.
It also makes sense that fear is the motivation of the absence of Tweets against Stormy, which puts her in a unique presidential category with Vladimir. I am wondering what those two have over Donald.
17
He has to keep silent about the Daniels thing right now. I don't think he has a choice. There is no upside for him. After they air the program or she actually breaks the agreement, he may have to speak about it. Or if he gets charged with some kind of campaign finance infraction with how she was paid off. Even then he may still have his lawyers speak for him as long as he can.
11
Mr. Trump is not a rational person capable of deep thoughts. Occasionally, he may behave in a rational manner, but that is almost accidental.
I'm quite sure he is being advised by his legal and political advisers to stay silent on the Daniels matter. However, he will erupt or react at some point. He cannot help himself.
51
I admire Trump for bringing us all down in the mud for us to see how government really works. It works when men of high moral character run things.
When the rich and elites tell us we can not afford social benefits,
When labor has no voice.When pensions are a thing of the past.When 90 percent of the population own a small amount of the wealth . When their running of this nation for the people,by the people forget the people. So let’s have calm and deflection again and most of us will be fooled again.
37
The barrage of negative articles about President Trump are accomplishing one thing. They are increasing the support for him due to the non-stop one-sidedness that occurs on a daily basis. Many people who would ordinarily not support Mr. Trump have come over to his side. I reluctantly voted for him and now I am not sorry for my decision. He may not always be diplomatic or say the right things but his policies are what many of us like about him. Hillary Clinton would not have made a good president. She was despised by many and the reason she lost the race.
I just sent a donation to the Republican Party supporting President Trump's reelection. No doubt, he will be reelected if the economy continues to be strong and the country prospers as it has been doing.
4
You say that people have come over to Trump's side but all of the evidence is to the contrary as his poll numbers have eroded since his election, even among some parts of his base. And you accuse the media of bias, but it's Trump himself who creates the steady stream of negative news. Just look at the revolving door of his cabinet as one example. Would you call that effective leadership? You give him credit for a robust economy, but more jobs were created in the last year of Obama's presidency than in the first year of Trump's.
105
Hillary Clinton didn’t “lose” the election, remember? She had more votes. She was cheated out of the presidency by Russian interference, gerrymandering, etc. And you can’t know that she would have made a bad President. Whereas, trump has proven himself already to be the worst president this country has ever had.
I have to laugh when I hear these arguments about how it's the media's fault that Trump is always being portrayed negatively. He has brought it all on himself. None of these negative reports would be in the mainstream news if he didn't cause them in the first place.
The people who give Mr Trump a pass know they have not only been lied to throughout their lives, but also share desirous dreams of both the life they imagine is lived as well as headlining the stories spun around Mr Trump.
If his being President, thanks in part to the so called evangelical vote, strikes observers as odd they might consider the truth of human male nature, shown by so many of their church leaders, as more telling than the beliefs professed.
How else does one define a good ole boy?
Hollywood producer?
27
I would suspect that behind closed bedroom doors Trump is a very different creature from the image he tries very hard to project in public. This is not unusual. We know that J. Edgar Hoover was a closet cross dresser. Who knows what Trump's guilty secret is? But, whatever it might be, Trump isn't anxious for it to be exposed; and he is trying very hard with hush money and uncharacteristic circumspection to avoid exposure.
51
Maybe the Steele dossier was true!
I'd wager Vlad knows his secret.
There may be a simpler explanation to Trump's silence regarding Stormy Daniels.
Maybe if he said anything, it would violate the non-disclosure agreement.
If so, that would free Ms. Daniels from the agreement.
And, if so, maybe it shows that Trump can be more disciplined than we give him credit for. He is a conman and knows when he has to stop?
27
That's exactly what I think - and fear: that he might actually be rational and smarter than we think.
7
But he never signed it.
No.
I was actually surprised to find out he had paid Stormy Daniels in the lead up to the election. This was the man who said he could shoot a gun down Fifth Ave and still be elected, right? And it did seem that way. So why didn't he just let that proverbial Stormy shot fly in the period before the election? Because he knew it would matter to his base. I think this does scare him.
22
Good point. What do you think it could be, assuming he didn't shoot someone?
I think it probably has more to do with hurting his wife. The affair was 12 years ago. To bring it up now is simply pointless and hurtful.
I don't understand the fascination with Stormy Daniels and what she may, or may not, have in her possession as evidence of her affair with Trump. We already have video evidence of how horribly Trump treats women, and there were no repercussions. Any photos/audio/video from Ms. Daniels will similarly have zero impact.
If she reveals something vulgar and risque, his supporters will laugh and cheer his Alpha-maleness. If she reveals something truly embarrassing, his supporters will protectively rally around him. There is no upside here for Democrats and no downside for Trump.
27
Then why is he suing her for $20 million?
2
If Stormy has Trump's tax returns I'm interested. If not it is only more unneccessary evidence of evangelical Christian hypocrisy.
1
What if she has pictures of Trump in a very pretty dress?
It’s a question of values and morality. It isn’t about a legal form meant to hide the truth, it’s about the character of the man who is cheating on his wife and wants to conceal it. Consenting adults, yes, morally challenged and lacking judgement, definitely. This is our president.
20
Mrs. Trump never looks happy. She mainly looks angry or sad. That should tell us a lot about the state of home life in the White House. Have we ever had a First Lady this unhappy before?
75
I don’t see how she could be happy, but I would disagree that one can tell how happy someone is by looking at them. Have you never heard of RBF? I just remember a quote from her interviewed in vogue or vanity fair wherein she is asked if she would have married him if he were not rich and she responds, “do you think he would have married me if I were not beautiful?” I doubt there is any love lost on either side
Possibly Botox and plastic surgery make it difficult for her to look any other way. For all that it is anybody's business she may be perfectly OK with letting her little boy play his locker room games.
Given the propensity of some Presidents to "stray," I suspect there were a few pretty sad First Ladies, Jackie, Eleanor, Mrs. Harding (who would fall for Warren???), and on to less convincing stories...
Maybe he's not speaking out because he is honoring an agreement made with Daniels, which, BTW has a $1 million penalty per violation and applies to both of them. A consensual non abusive fling between experienced adults is not really news and now that we have her account (which I believe) there isn't much to tell.
7
The $1 million penalty does not apply to Trump. Read the Agreement (Sec. 5 Remedies). In fact, the Agreement does not contemplate a breach by Trump and is, therefore, silent as to what would happen if he, for some reason or other, decided to "speak": no damages payable to her despite the possibility that his speaking out may have eg. destroyed her marriage, caused her public humiliation, etc. This NDA is unconscionable on so many levels. eg. who accepts a lousy $130,000 in exchange for a penalty of $1 million per breach....somebody under duress, stress, pressure, threats, I'd wager to bet.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/13/17109656/stormy-daniel...
32
So it’s the loss of his own money he fears? Alas, that’s his weakness!
Can someone explain how the contract is valid if dt, alias dd in this case,
never signed on the dotted line? Thank you.
Suppose you apply for a job. You're hired--Yay!--BUT, one year into your job, human resources calls you in and demands that you account for several affairs you had 12 years before you were hired for your current position. What do you do? 1) Tell them it's none of their business? 2) Decline to comment because it's none of their business? 3) Tell them it is not only none of their business, but that it is harassment based on a nothing-burger which has nothing whatsoever to do with your current job duties? What does one do?
This line of public questioning presents a rather horrible future precedence for those with private lives. No?
5
"This line of public questioning presents a rather horrible future precedence for those with private lives. No?"
No, it represents a typical, normal past for those trying to establish public lives.
1
1)All that went away when an investigation about a real estate deal in AR instead became questioning about a consensual affair. What does that have to with the White Water Real Estate deal? Nothing. Is it illegal to have consensual sex? No. Didn’t stop impeachment proceedings though did it? Now the genie is out of the bottle.
2) this is going to court due illegitimate use of campaign money. That may be bogus but so was the perjury charge with Bill Clinton.
5
Suppose in addition to the affair you also committed financial crimes. Your employer would justifiably have a problem with that and would be right to kick you to the curb.
4
Two people involved with The Donald are not attacked by him and ridiculed with silly bombastic 5th grade name-calling. One is Stormy Daniels and the other one the bare chested Russian bear name Vladimir.
It indeed seems that these two have plenty of dirt on him, dirt that would prove him as the utterly little vulgar man he is.
111
It's sad that the fate of the nation lies in the hands of a porn star. Stormy Daniels is the one person Trump cannot attack on grounds of 'Deep State Conspiracy' theories or party affiliation. He also cannot attack her because it would nullify the NDA: And now he's in civil court for libelling her.
Trump's meltdown last weekend suggests a Dead President Tweeting. He has become a parody of a parody, a mixture of Duterte, Chavez, Castro and Putin all rolled into one.
70
The fate of the nation is in the hands and feet of voters. IF ALL the registered Democrats in the USA show up and vote -- or vote via absentee -- in the November midterms, and if all the iffy independents vote for Democrats, then Democrats will win ALL 33 seats up for a vote in the Senate, even the seats in solid Republican states for 50+ years, and less than 130 Republicans are left in the House.
4
Donald Trump - sexual harasser (by his own admission), many times bankrupt property developer and Manchurian Candidate, who is probably blackmailed by Russia. Now affairs with porn stars. No surprise here. Clinton & JFK not much better. We're witnessing the seedy decline of Imperial America. Hail Caligula.
16
"Clinton & JFK not much better."
Clinton and JFK so very way much better if you have an iota of respect for learning and intelligence. And they sure as heck were not sanctimoniously judging others like the republicans who were engaged in their own piccadillos whilst impeaching Clinton, the hypocrites. America's decline does not have to do with private flaws of character so much as a celebration of psychopathic greed in the corporate elite.
1
Why stop with only 2 presidents. FDR, Ike, George HW Bush, Jefferson, Harding, and at least a dozen more. This ain’t nothing new.
1
Clinton and JFK did not have affairs with porn stars they paid off and/or lied about and they were excellent presidents. They were MUCH better and they did not commit treason.
A gay Canadian vegan with pink hair and a porn star are taking this guy down. 2018 - one for the history books, children.
71
What's wrong with being gay?
What's wrong with being Canadian?
What's wrong with being vegan?
What's wrong with having pink hair?
And what exactly is a porn "star"?
I am betting that he gloated to her about what he had done in Moscow in the bed that the Obamas had slept in.
27
Wrong timeline—
The Stormy-capade was before Mr. Obama ever arrived on the presidential scene.
Don’t worry too much about Melania, she’s tougher than nails and she’s no fool...
No matter what happens to Tweetie Bird and his ilk, she will come out of this cesspool smelling like a rose and go on some day to become one of the most sought after ex-concubines in the rarefied air crowd. The soiled ruins of Donald’s legacy will, perversely, be the solid building blocks of her future. It’s guaranteed, you can bet on it...
20
Nevertheless, no matter how "strategic"
she may be for the long term, it must
be painfully humiliating.
As for Trump's core supporters,
they knew that marital fidelity
was not his lifestyle. They
likely applaud him in the weird
way that they excuse his shortcomings.
Not to mention that we have been
around the block on this issue
with Democratic Presidents,
gleefully acknowledged by
Trumpsters. A sordid state
of affairs.
Trump is silent when he is compromised. He flatters Putin, silent about anything he does to the US. So, I suspect she has something on him he is embarrassed about.
Stormy Daniels is clearly not intimidated by Trump one bit. Bullies cave in front of someone unafraid. Yet Trump doubles down when it is business related. So, I think the compromat is sex related, something that emasculated him. This makes whatever Putin has more likely to be related to the Steele dossier (something else Trump fights hard against).
This certainly is getting interesting. Bigly. Stormy.
46
I think the Trump response to Stormy is that he is truly conflicted: on the one hand, he wants to be seen as a stud who had sex with Stormy, a porn star. On the other hand, he is afraid of the effects of the disclosure of details. Like the donkey starving to death because he is standing next to two equal bales of hay and cannot pick one, Trump cannot decide whether he wants to be Stud or impeached.....
What is this man doing in the White House..... Or anywhere on public property....
35
There's the porn star, then the Playboy bunny, then the 17 or so women who accused him of inappropriate conduct, Then there are the friends of Russia all around him, Flynn, Manafort, Gates, Page, and then you have Bannon in a class all by himself, and then the outright nuts like Omarosa, Stephen Miller, Scaramuci, and then the family Know-nothings like Ivanka and Jared, and Junior and all the rest of the troubling people around him. And what about the firing and or resignation of the few class acts ( Tillerson, Comey, Cohn...)
And what about his taxes and financial links to Russia and other shady characters. and his embrace of racists and bigots (...Fine people with torches..., Roy Moore, etc...)
And his ignorance, and mental instability and incuriousness and his inability to concentrate for more than a few minutes and his unwillingness to read anything without pictures or his name all over the place?
And all the rest ( bankruptcies, divorces, lawsuits...).
What will it take for the people who, in good faith, supported him, to realize that they made a terrible mistake? And yes, that includes elected officials in congress.
172
"What will it take for the people who, in good faith, supported him, to realize that they made a terrible mistake?"
Awareness . . . an awareness that is not forthcoming. Cut your losses, and strive to bring out the apathetic and the dedicated opposition, Don't even waste your time trying to reach his committed followers.
36
Heck, this show has more crazy plot twists and over-the-top antics than the Celebrity Apprentice could ever cook up. Can't wait for next week's episode. Best "reality" TV show ever!!!
At least that's how I suspect much of his base (in many senses) takes this disaster.
1
Oh Canada, please don't build a wall.
1
There are no secrets anymore. Period.
3
It doesn’t matter who brings down Trump. Muller or Storm. If Storm brings him down Trump Republican Congress members will be the real porn stars who sold their souls if not their bodies
to Trump
47
Isn't it possible that they're secretly negotiating a revised settlement. Trump needs only to overpay vs. what Daniels can get outside while staying below Melania's pre-nup penalty award for bad behavior. Trump needs to keep his mouth shut to let the dust settle and get the deal done,
3
I suspect it's gone way past that...
Overall, no one cares about LittleFingers’ consensual interactions. Most of us care about his ugly dismantling of public education, his illiterate response to anything requiring a brain, and his absence of compassion. He’s a dope.
63
I can't believe we voted for this guy. I can't believe Melania is still married to this guy. I wonder what Baron is thinking.
19
read "Killers of the Flower Moon", an horrendous example of the tribal, racist reality of American culture. I have never seen a worse example of human evil.
10
I read this book and it was an example of the racially superior attitude of those white folks in Oklahoma back then. The Osage native Americans were murdered systematically for their oil rights. The racially motivated and lucre loving murders don't happen in today's Oklahoma but I suspect there still exists a feeling of white racial superiority there.
Big hands, Mr. Bruni? Come come!
They LITTLE hands. They GOTTA be little.
If you gonna GROPE various and sundry members of the fair sex.
Sorry, New York Times! I permitted myself a little vulgarity. In the fleeting hope . . . ..
. .. that the President might read my remarks.
But no. I have no real hopes. That I might--somehow--rise to the dignity of being ATTACKED--in some blistering little tweet--by the President of the United States. That I might join the august company of Ms. Clinton, Ms. Warren, Mr. Schiiff. . . . And others. MANY others.
Your point is well taken, Mr. Bruni. It had not occurred to me. Mr. Trump might well be sitting on his own inner volcano of anger and apprehension. And March 25 is only five days away. Betcha dollars to donuts the man is sweating bullets!
And I honestly think, sir--he really IS approaching some sort of tipping point. Proof? No. I got no proof.
But the tawdry details that pile up! The incensed women that--one after another--come forward. This that. This that.
I say nothing of Mr. Mueller. . .Mr. Comey. . .and speak of the devil! Mr. Comey's got a book coming out, does he not? How--when will it happen?
When a deafening cry rises up from a substantial portion of the United States. "We are SICK of this man! Sick unto DEATH, you understand.
"Get him OUTA here! Lock stock and barrel!
"And his toadies, his enablers in Congress?
"Get 'em ALL--outa here!"
Glad day--glad day!
May it come soon!
20
Congrats Frank, an angle I hadn't thought about...you are on target, this man is all about attack, attack, attack, --when he goes silent, and let's be honest, Stormy is a major storm----there is something going on here...you do have to feel for Melania---what an awful person to have married. I guess she knew the deal, money, money, money, and well, yes my husband will play around a little/a lot..but what a deal with the devil.
20
Stormy hasn't said very much... yet. So far, there has been plenty said by a whole lot of OTHER people about this liaison between her and him. Trump's silence is fairly predictable, really. When she actually comes forward (perhaps on these '60 Minutes' interviews?) with salacious material then I think we will hear plenty from Trump -- in tweets or through sound bites from Sarah Huckabee Sanders, or both -- about how she's lying, she's just trying to make money, she was put up to it by Democrats, etc. etc. etc. And the GOP will back him up and his base will back him up and we'll be right back to the downward slide.... I hope I'm wrong.
6
Two points:
First, you forgot to mention that she was silenced days before the election. Imagine how that might have affected the election if it had come out. And other silenced women who had affairs with him might have also come out, days before the election.
Second, maybe his wife is considering getting a divorce, following the script of her son-in-law's wife. And wouldn't that be great! The first president to get divorced while I'm n office.
7
Stormy in any form cannot be good news for a President already under suspicion by women voters. Appearing on 60 minutes is taking it to a new level. Add to that a pit bull lawyer representing Stormy and we have the makings of bad news for the President for the next couple of weeks at least. Following that will be court proceedings and what is sure to be a long deposition. Ugly will become uglier as the details emerge. In the background Mueller grinds on as White House staff depart or are fired. Fiddling as the White House is engulfed in scandal are Ryan and dour faced McConnell trying to figure out how to save the House and Senate in November. We are all just shaking our heads as our nation sinks lower and lower into the swamp.
31
No deposition if Trump's lawyers succeed--the NDA stipulates arbitration (ie all behind closed doors).
Given that Daniels works in movies there’s a possibility that a movie was made of Trump with her. Maybe Trump didn’t look as good and as macho as he claims to be. Maybe it was just a “that’s it?”
11
Speaking of curious silences - and silencings...
https://lawandcrime.com/exclusive/facebook-forces-nyt-to-quietly-delete-...
"...other reputable outlets–like tech publication Recode—reported on the specificity of the Sandberg-Stamos disagreement. Same goes for Quartz. And Reuters...
3
Trump has been caught dead to rights by Daniels and McDougal’s revelations. The mouth from NY can only protest their accusations as lies just so much. He is out of options. If Melania wants to to do herself and us a favor, she can leave her amoral standard of a husband for freedom from his immorality.
9
Will this be the first President to get a divorce while in the Whitehouse? I can't wait. I'll wager yes.
8
This is more appropriate for the Jerry Springer show than 60 minutes.
5
Stormy's business is tapes and Donny can't resist being filmed. When the tapes count on the superball to eclispe the superbowl.
5
I think that Melania got a pre-nup that says any infidelities would result in a massive loss of income. Money is Trump's only language. Trump signed this out of absolute male vanity, then, funny story, he violated it.
8
Yep. Stormy & Putin/ Russia get the free pass... hmm.
Talk to us, Mr. Mueller. Come on, I know you got something that would make sense of this!
5
I don’t give Trump a complete pass on his infidelity to his wives and hiring prostitutes like most other readers. If he is to lead our nation, he should be a better role model for our young men. If he seeks evangelical votes, he should lead a more decent personal life. That says a lot about evangelicals’ hypocrisy that they vote for any dog as long as there is an R after his name. Even the Pope commented this week that hiring prostitutes is exploiting these women, it is criminal, a crime against humanity, it is torture, a sick mentality, and a sickness of humanity, he also said this is not making love, this is torturing a woman.
19
But good Catholic Douthat thinks the Pope is wrong.
1
Mr. Bruni: You and many of the commentators here may be correct about Trump, but you miss the point. Even if Trump cares deeply about this, his supporters don't. Whatever is revealed won't move the needle for them. This is because Trump's supporters don't actually support Trump the person, but Trump the concept and the vessel for their emotion. If Trump disappeared tomorrow, some other (Roy Moore, etc.) would step in his place, probably even more extreme, because it would be more dramatic and clickbaity. This will take a long time to wind down. And with this in mind, you need to focus more on the supporters, and the systemic incentive to clickbaitiness, that amplifies emotions.
13
I think the way trump has boxed himself in with "Stormy" is:
1. if he talks/tweets and says yes, I did it, then Stormy is free to talk and he can't sue her;
2. if he talks/tweets and says, no, I didn't do it and she's lying, then Stormy is free to talk and sue him for defamation.
And 1 or 2 will render moot the "legal actions" already underway(?).
And Michael Cohen, the self-styled "RayDonovan" is, I believe, in a whole heap of trouble with the New York Bar, no matter how this all plays out.
All in all, this horrendous, tawdry and tacky mess has the makings of some "interesting" law school exam questions for first year students. Poor Tiffany: her first year in law school and undoubtedly hearing her peers argue and apply their limited knowledge of the law to this legal quagmire.
16
I understand that Melania married Trump for the money. And the chain migration for her parents. And the money. Still, the Stormy Daniels revelations must make her feel humiliated and degraded. Just like McCabe. Or Tillerson. Or Session. Or...
20
Let's not glorify what this is about. Trump is a narcissist who loves himself. He does not care about his wife. He lacks a moral compass. He grandiose vision of himself is what makes him tick. He's the ultimate Teflon Don. I still cannot figure out why he has not fallen from grace. He is like a cat with 9 lives. But I continue to believe that good prevails over evil and that Robert Mueller will soon Bring him down. Karma has its way. Trump is about to fall from grace. It's time.
17
Please stop covering the occupant of the White House. The constant “free” media coverage during the campaign influenced his election. How about focusing on important issues to all Americans: DACA, reducing gun violence, health care, maintaining a viable democracy or a democracy at all.
8
He is being silent because he is worried she will reveal that she had a love child with him.
6
Or aborted said love child...
Or an abortion.
He attacks anyone, regardless of race, color, gender, etc. Which is why I laugh when he’s called racist. After all, he’s attacked the Pope..
I don’t think he cares about Stormy..
5
The American public’s queasiness and hypocrisy when it comes to sex, pornography and adultery is amusing, to say the very least. I get the feeling that the New York Times is forced to report on this matter because it is everywhere else. However, I believe that the author of this article is suggesting that Stormy Daniels’ upcoming interview will fail to reveal anything interesting. Certainly, the President’s reputation can’t be sullied if he had been celebrated for being sexually flamboyant and hyperbolic. I strongly feel that this story is overblown in order to exhaust the public’s interest and patience. It acts as a kind of vaccine against future allegations. Trump is going to eventually win over the other half by continuing to position himself as underdog. The media will help him achieve that by giving air to (threats of) salacious claims without first verifying their substance.
Only fools believe that a billionaire thug is an underdog, no matter how he positions himself. Most Americans are not fools.
does anyone remember trump bragging that he never settles lawsuits? I've been following politrics for 50 years...The position trump's lawyer is taking, that he paid Daniels $130K out of his own pocket and trump had nothing to do with it...is the most blatantly absurd statement I've ever seen.
17
What's behind the silence? Same thing behind the silence of all other presidential philanders. This isn't new. Trump just didn't realize that in today's internet age, it would all come back to haunt him.
3
Isn't the contract between PP (Stormy) and EC, the only parties that signed the contract? She was paid by EC. She hasn't disclosed anything about her relationship with EC. EC paid her money to keep quiet, and she has.
What PP (Stormy) wants is the right to disclose her story with David Dennison (aka trump) who did not sign the contract nor did he pay her any money to her to keep quiet. There is no contract between them - she only has one with EC.
There's no doubt President Dennison is a traitor in presidential clothing. He viciously attacks most American citizens, including its heroes (McCain, etc.) while he praises and congratulates our enemy, Putin, for winning a rigged election - a man who just chemically poisoned citizens in an ally country, is actively attacking our country's infrastructure with cyber weapons, bombs and poisons civilians in Syria for years, invades Ukraine, Georgia, and blows civilian airliners out of the sky, and helped install Mr. Dennison as our POTUS against all plausibility or reason against America - yes, our election was rigged in trump's favor.
Anyone notice how Ms. Daniels smiles and almost giggles when asked about "doing it" with him? She must be thinking "how embarrassing for him." Does she have something really embarrassing to say describing ... um, his "hands", as she tries to avoid LOL? That'll rattle him.
Trump likely avoids traveling to California because divorce papers presented - served - to him there are more expensive.
6
Women rightfully complain about sexual harassment. They rightfully complain about being objectified. They rightfully complain about being dismissed as insignificant. They file lawsuits and complaints with HR departments. I don't blame them; I empathize.
What I cannot understand is how so many women are willing to completely ignore Trump's behavior when it affects other women. He denigrates them publicly, he cheats on them openly, he humiliated his third wife and those who came before her. Yet female Trump supporters just don't seem to care at all. They'll formulate a convoluted rationalization, and continue to support him. What am I missing here? Ladies?
7
Ask the women who voted for him.
All the others find him despicable.
We have reached the bottom. Trump is as bad as it gets.
The way out from here is UP.
And of course, God is watching and he has his way of doing justice.
5
If he tweeted derogatory comments about her or said she was a liar, she could sue him for slander and/or defamation and he'd lose all cover. It's a strategy he is forced to swallow.
2
I have to say that I notice that he never , never responds to Bernie Sanders. I
guess I think that it's because he doesn't want to bring attention to Bernie.
A couple of polls have shown Bernie Sanders to be the most popular politician in
the country. Senator Sanders hardly lets a day go by without calling out Trump
as a fraud,a liar, a hypocrite. And yet Trump doesn't respond. Also I'm surprised that nobody at the New York Times has noticed this. Lots of Democrats get the Trump treatment.but not Senator Sanders. But then the New York times has tried to ignore him too.
8
Has it occurred to anyone that Trump is also under a non-disclosure agreement with liquidated damages and if he breaches it it may be a waiver that allows Stormy to go public?
3
Stormy was supposed to be a problem that was solved via a handsome payoff. Same for Vladimir. But problems that were solved yet that constantly keep coming up, are not things you want to shine more light on and Trump knows it.
Close, Frank, but no sugar. it's been obvious to me from the start that the trump we see is not the trump we don't see. There are a lot of things he cares about but only one thing that sustains him: his wealth. without that he'd be like an opened balloon sadly but inevitably shrinking away.
It's all about his prenup. Many used to, now all do, have a clause protecting the spouse against infidelity. Once he admits he has had an affair of any type, Melania can walk with a much larger share of his wealth than he might be able to chisel her down to without that clause. His wealth is much safer if she makes a claim that he has steadfastly denied. That factual dispute will allow him to chisel. If there's no factual dispute he doesn't have much at all. To him this is worse than death.
3
Mickey Davis: You are assuming that Melania had a highly competent lawyer and that he didn't; and also that she had negotiating power equal to his. I doubt both.
If she is in such a powerful position, that would be great. But I would not expect that. At all.
7
I’m sorry, but aside from the election law issue (which is admittedly important), Stormy Daniels is essentially just clickbait. No one who voted for Trump or knows his background is surprised that he had a relationship like this, and he hasn’t paid any political price to this point. I doubt he will (again, unless the election law issue really does become a problem, which, considering that Trump will appoint the FTC Commissioners, seems unlikely).
What is Ms. Daniels going to say? It was a consenting relationship between two adults. And, in light of that, there is a whiff of hypocrisy coming from the Left on this.
I am no supporter of Trump. But this dog isn’t going to hunt.
3
You have it backwards. Stormy Daniels is important. Trump is just clickbait.
7
When I saw your headline I burst into laughter at the play on words. Great article Mr. Bruni.
1
He sues for millions for disclosure while claiming there's nothing to disclose. Nobody seems to point this out.
9
Great article, fantastic, outstanding, world class, the best!
Now we bow our heads and pray:
"Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself." R.M. Nixon August 9, 1974
great headline... love it.
1
Perhaps the non disclosure says he can’t talk about her?
1
There's nothing criminal about sex between two consenting adults. Trump isn't the first president who is guilty of extramarital affairs nor will he be the last. Yes evangelicals have been revealed for the hypocrites they are in supporting him while proclaiming the mantle of family values but that's politics. The press is enjoying dragging out this nonsense which is the only reason Ms Daniels is still relevant.
4
Raise your hand if you will watch 60 minutes on Sunday. I see everyones hand is in the air. Stormy can humiliate the “tiny” man and the way he throws his massive ego around he deserves it.
6
Calm before the Stormy - what if none of it matters? An affair from 11-12 years ago? If Melania let's it known it was discussed long ago and that for them as a couple it is resolved, is there even a next act?
3
It DOES MATTER and hopefully will matter to women of both parties along w our crazy Evangelicals!
6
ah, yes - -
BUT:
the $$$$ changed-hands,
shall we recall,
mere months ago ...
leaving DJT with a much-more-current
"explanation" now required.
can't hide in TT in Manhattan,
or overseas until the storm(s)
blows through...
these kinds of memories are a bit more lasting.
all of this could not possibly happen
to a more-deserving infantile narcissistic bully.
6
I doubt Trump's is shacking in his shoes because a women may reveal information about his bedroom skills or the lack thereof. I doubt Trump cares about his wife feelings. He could be worried about the allegations, campaign funds were used to buy Mr. Daniels silence. Or, Trump could be scared silly, because a pregnancy occurred during his relationship with Ms. Daniels.
3
"Shacking in your shoes"? Hmmmm. Think I'll try it sometime. If Trump does it, how can it be bad?
Damn, that woman walking next to me is hot! Oops, never mind; It's just my wife.
4
Or daughter (not that I agree with that).
3
Why is Trump silent about the many provocations of Putin? Could it be for the same or similar reasons—an embarrassing dalliance when Trump was in Russia?
22
If the Mueller Investigation answers the question of why Trump is so obsequious towards Putin, it will be worth the money right there.
23
The real loser in this saga is Melania ... unless....
Melania has the opportunity laid before her to become a true American hero and idol. Her position in American history could easily rival that of the Marquis de Lafayette. Compared to the adulation and adoration she would receive as the savior of American Democracy from a vast majority of grateful voters, Trump's "textbook generic" attributes don't hold a candle.
And, to her credit, she would be separating the son she bore by Trump from the lifelong ignominy of being just that: Trump's third (acknowledged) son. Eric and DJT Jr. should be so lucky. Their envy would be palpable, as they precariously stand on the crumbling ruins of Trump, Inc.
I think it a safe assumption Gloria Allred would accept her as a client. Pro Bono.
Just sayin'...
37
Perhaps Melania isn’t too smart. Perhaps Melania is being paid several million not to disclose dirt on Trump.
1
No, the real "loser" is Baron!
6
Of course Melania's silence is costing Trump millions, probably hundreds of millions, BWCA. But Trump's $10B up against the US Treasury is less than bubble gum change. Melania can, and hopefully will, do better.
BTW, never canoed the BWCA, but once spent a weekend at the home of a friend who owned a bar in Ely. Health issues prohibit me from living in colder climes. I envy you your home base.
Glen
It’s possible Stormy Daniels may become an American hero. Counting the minutes till Sunday. The episode called ...Die By the Sword.
22
Failing sword.
4
Trump has us right where he wants us, in thrall to his every tweet, and now we wonder why he doesn't unleash a storm of tweets about Stormy. He manipulates us through distraction by tweet while he dismantles government protections and regulations. We wonder when he is going to slam Stormy via Twitter but not so much about the Department of Justice's suspension of a rule that required companies with ten employees or more, 60% of all employees, to report injuries on the job. Or about the repeal of a rule that required companies to disclose serious violations of safety laws to be eligible for government contracts. Or the repeal of a rule that demanded financial advisors to act in their clients' best interest rather than their own. Or the repeal of a law that blocked gun sales to the mentally ill. Or the repeal of the Clean Power Plan which required states to cut carbon emissions from power plants. While we are obsessing over Trump's puerile tweets, he is removing protections in the workplace, the environment, in finance and maybe most importantly, he has set a record for appointing the most federal appeals court judges, which will have repercussions for years to come.
As Polonius says of Hamlet, "Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't." Trump distracts and we don't notice that Rome is burning.
68
I really wish Melania would divorce him. Now. She never wanted to be in the WH anyway. Why should her life fizzle away because of him? Everyone in America (except for Evangelicals) would support her.
30
Washington, D.C. offers no-fault ("unilateral") divorce in which the plaintiff is guaranteed to win. Why would Melania need anyone's "support" if she decided that she no longer wished to be married?
1
Great photo. Beast and the Beauty. Obviously, must be true love.
Of his money.
24
Or a tightly written pre-nup.
3
...and those who spent years in a POW prison.
6
What a pitiful sight to see Melania holding hands with Trump on Monday. How much money is he paying her to pretend to like him? Melania is a complete failure as First Lady.
50
"...pitiful sight to see Melania holding hands with Trump.... How much money is he paying her to pretend to like him? Melania is a complete failure as First Lady..."
I don't know her (of course!). But I'm loathe to pass judgment. A woman from a poorer country, who took the opportunity to marry a successful man (to whom she may have been passionately attracted), bore a child whom she clearly loves...And now maybe, maybe, feels overwhelming pressure to be loyal despite her misgivings? We Americans haven't a clue what the world looks like through her eyes. At any rate, she is not the President and she is not responsible for his abuses. We do ourselves no credit when we unload our rage and disgust on her. It's unfair to her, it advances our causes and issues not an inch, and it's factually incorrect.
We do better by staying quiet in public while wishing her well and hoping that she gains the strength to break with him if she wants to do that. Or, if we insist, by celebrating the fact that she modeled here without a work visa, and asking why her husband cannot treat others as well as he's treated her (or thinks that he has).
3
“Filthy Shades of Orange", I'm sure it will be "bigly"!
16
Unless there's a pregnancy or a probable, bad threat from a Trump aide or Trump himself, this won't make a difference at all with his strong 35%.
It might, though, make a difference with them if Stormy's suit brings an avalanche of other women who also were threatened or had abortions. I do think that would end his delusional life in D.C. and he could go back to his delusional life in NYC.
21
I believe her lawyer stated that there was no pregnancy. I suppose it was in the nondisclosure agreement as "standard language" that Trump uses routinely.
6
Trump should be afraid of women. In this current "me too" and "time's up" environment, women have had enough, and are expessing their disgust by running for office and with their votes come November and beyond.
17
You suggest that Trump would not exhibit disrespect to his own kin. Permit me to remind you that he has publicly stated that he would date one of his own daughters, never suggesting that he'd date the other one.
23
And Vladimir Putin!
2
Stormy doesn't interest me. What putin and Russia have on trump does. Muller is our hope to crack this hardened haircut. Please people, take Gov. Brown's approach and be careful not to fall into putin's trap of want to destroy democracy in the US and elsewhere. Brown success has come from his ability to work with moderate GOP'ers. Do not let another evil country tear apart our constitution asunder. Learn to work with each other. McCain brought down trumps attempt to kill the ACA. He condemned trump for congratulating putin's election. A N. Carolina senator warned that if trump fired Muller it would be the beginning of the downfall of his presidency. Flake is in New Hampshire looking to take trump out. Keep the 'US' together!
25
Good points, though I disagree partially:
"... N. Carolina senator warned that if trump fired Muller it would be the beginning of the downfall of his presidency..."
No. That was Lindsey Graham, of SOUTH Carolina. If you lived here in NC, you'd know that our Senators are incapable of showing that much character; although Sen. Graham, too, usually has caved to The Donald when the chips were down, despite his image -- and I think self-image -- of independence and high principle.
More to the point: I don't think Mueller will bring him down. It will be impossible to find enough evidence and to prove the case; that is hoping for too much. I'll place my bets on Stormy Daniels. She's much harder for him to deal with, for many reasons. And with her attacks on his character, she will be more able to turn the public irrevocably against him than a team of lawyers who have an almost-but-not-quite-provable case.
1
The correct response to discovering a monster in our midst is not "be nice to him and make it work." He needs to be removed from office, not cosseted as he already is by the GOP Congress.
3
Mr. Bruni,
Non-disclosure agreements go both ways. If he violates it, then it is abrogated with no penalty for her, the flood gates open. . . . .
16
"Every mention of Daniels must mortify Melania, and the president can’t afford that. There’s more than enough strain in their marriage."
Frank, I'm not convinced Melania is as mortified as you suggest. You (and we) presuppose that the Trump's marriage is bound by traditional norms, rooted in "the sanctity of" thing that we of the nonbillionaire, nonfilmmogul set take for granted when offering or witnessing vows. We can't really say that Melania didn't know what she was getting into when she married "The Donald." Fidelity may be embedded in Christianity and desirable, but it's rarely contractual.
While the Trumps are clearly not your average couple, their marriage may very well be, well, just average. As Jeanette Winterson writes in her novel, "Weight," "Men are unfaithful by nature. This is not a fault in men, for nature should not be accused of faulty workmanship. It is as useless to rail against man’s infidelity as it is to complain that water is wet. What god or man is content with what he has? And if he were content, then he is less than god or man."
14
"Filthy Shades of Orange"...!
26
If you have to pay for it, you're doing it wrong. Seriously.
27
Seems very likely that his reluctance to go all-out-tweet against Stormy is of a piece with his reluctance to go any- or all-out-tweet against Putin: he knows that they have juicy information about his private parts and secret doings that he fears even his staunchest backers will find disgusting or ludicrous. [Just wait until Melania finally concludes she's had enough of his pathetic puffery.]
23
I suspect that Mr. Trump's silence about Ms. Daniels and any other extra-marital hoopla rests on his pride that a) a deeply unattractive man can have sex with a good-looking woman (a sex worker, true, but still beauty to his beast), and b) his belief that many other American men envy him sex with a porn star. Even, or maybe especially, for the religious crowd, Mr. Trump is the only kid who gets away with everything they'd like to do.
Unsavory and embarrassing this is, but it's nothing compared to the evil that he and his administration are perpetrating on the American people and the world.
Thank you.
52
Isn’t Trump bound by the NDA? Isn’t this proof that he knows of the existence of the agreement? Isn’t that why he is not talking?
14
Oh Lordy, please God, let there be tapes.....
112
in the 2011 'In Touch' article (oh, the irony) she described the sex as textbook generic. i wonder if she was being overly polite at the time...
12
What requires us to keep track of someone else's sex life? Or who was paid to have sex with whom? Even if someone having sex is famous, what makes this news?
5
The sex isn't the news, Mr. Greenspun. The strong-arm tactics, the coverup and the likelihood that campaign finance, banking and tax laws were violated in the process is the news.
Actually, you're right. That isn't news either. It's Trump's standard operating procedure.
37
Maybe ask Monica?
11
"Strong-arm tactics"? If there were truly "strong-arm tactics" available, why would folks who want to talk about their sexual and/or financial experiences be in the media at all?
If X is out walking around, carefree and healthy, saying something embarrassing or negative about Y, do you say "Whoa! Y has unlimited power and strong-arm capabilities"?
1
She is a filmmaker. Say no more.
6
Frank you are wrong.Trump does not criticize current Russian presidents named Putin.
10
Who will remind you of your torrid presidency, Grand Old Party? Your faithful?
1
The plain truth is that Donald Trump is afraid of women; very afraid. No Gentleman speaks of, or behaves with women, in the manner that he does, who, is not absolutely petrified. "Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky......"
13
My only issue with this piece is that Mr. Bruni brings the name of Trump's youngest child into the narrative. It may seem trivial to some, but kindness and a bare modicum of decency might dictate not including the name of a twelve year old child in this sordid mess, especially on the child's birthday.
10
Interestingly the NYT has chosen a photo of Trump and Melania distant but together. But make no mistake she knew what she was getting into when she married this jerk. As soon as he met her he jettisoned his date to the bathroom so he could schmooze Melania, a gold struck girl from Slovenia. Gold struck in Slovenia doesn’t get you very far. But gold struck in broken English with a sweet Slavic accent, a vague porno history, well, in NYC that’s a lot and it’s called M-O-N-E-Y. Designer clothes, plastic surgery, Saks on speed dial, chauffeurs, helicopters, galas, photographers: I’ve arrived in land of the RICH. Of course the Trumps are distant because they surely can’t stand each other by now. (Remember her shocked expression when he spoke to her from the inaugural podium...some sadistic put down). He hates women. That’s another subject. The gold struck girl from Slovenia got hitched, and hogtied with legalize. You know, sell your soul to the devil..... But she is not going to ever be poor again!
Put the gloves on for this divorce.
38
Normally, this would be tabloid fodder, but there is one aspect to this that may merit attention, and that is Trump's intention of intimidation to the less powerful. Fine if Ms. Clifford has her 10 (or 60 in this case) minutes of fame, but in reality, what she says might have some import in the collective minds of Americans as he bloviates and rants about the unfairness of how he is perceived by the public. I suspect that the interview could potentially reveal some damaging information in terms of his treatment of women through his tactics of confidentiality agreements, intimidation by threat, misuse of campaign funds, and possibly things we may not know that come to light in this interview.
17
This is simpler, Frank.
His lawyers have advised that she has the goods. And he cannot get her off prime time through vociferous denial. So he has to just hunker down and hope she overplays her hand.
Like appearing in bar shows showing all, or whatever.
Stormy, My Dear, your memoirs are worth millions, and you don't even have to write them. So don't screw it up up by strutting naked, wherever.
6
Follow the money, yes, but also the DNA.
12
So many millions of words by the Times about Trump (at the expense of so many better things to share). Does it now need explaining that, to so many in his base, the fact that he has gotten on not only with America's first publically nude first lady but also with a porn star and a Playboy model only serve to make him more of a hero? There is no part of his life and works that has not been gone over and over again, always critically, only for something else to come up that gets writers newly upset, and off they go again. Please find something else about which to write. He is not going to change, and you are not going to convince him or the people who admire him that he should. Melania does her job uniquely well. Let's call that a win and try to find something we can all write about and about which we can make a difference.
9
No one expects him to change. We expect him to be exposed, over and over, until the GOP Congress finally decides to do their constitutional duty and take this harmful man out of office.
12
I applaud Trump's apparent virility at such an advanced age. Bruni's potency is limited to pathetic words on a page - or maybe not even that.
4
I'm guessing that Trump is not only cowed by what she can tell, but because he fears that she has some photos and/or video, possibly ones that will further underscore what a pathetic encounter this was.
5
"Textbook Generic"
If only Trump could rise to the level of "Textbook Generic" as a President.
Instead we are stuck with "DSM-5 Malignant Narcissist"
76
It’s perfect cosmic symmetry that the women’s stage now is stormy just like that Washington hotel was called ‘The Watergate’
3
Or maybe he only watches Fox News so he hasn’t heard about Stormy yet.
111
Interestingly today the FOX website finally has a small article about Daniels, McDougal and Zervos all wrapped into one. No idea whether it made TV.
1
"Apart from his own kin, there’s no category of person exempt from Donald Trump’s attacks... But not Stormy Daniels."
Or Vladimir Putin. You missed that one. That's another story, perhaps. Trump can, in fact, shut up when he feels the need.
12
like Stormy, Putin spends a fair amount of time bare-chested...Trump enjoys both
4
Stephanie Clifford aka Stormy is fundraising on crowdjustice to pay legal fees.
14
Enough with his base and other Republicans. This man has a wife, 4 children, a sister who is a federal judge and several grandchildren.
Does he give a spiff about what they think of him?
Someday they will be at his funeral and what will be their final thoughts? That he made money? Or that he was a serial philanderer, who lied, cheated and stole his way through life. The true measure of a man is not his bank account. It's the positive impact he made on the world. In this man's case, the measure won't even be a grain of salt.
36
Well, he, uh, was a tony dresser. And he had lots of energy. And he supported his local McDonald'ses. And he ... uh ... cared about his hairdo. And he ... uh .. look -- at out-of-state license plate! And I think I see another one way down there. Let's go check it out. You know, I think the Raptors could go all the way.
8
5 children. You forgot Tiffany.
1
You presume Trump has a conscience. You presume he can feel shame and guilt. Nothing in his behavior in the past 40 years indicates that he does.
1
it would be just the thing to bring Trump down from his perch. His having sex with Daniels shortly after Melania gave birth is thoughtless and shows us even more how self centered Trump is. Of course what we don't know is if he had sex outside his marriage while Melania was pregnant with Barron. None of this makes Trump look better as a president, as a family man, or as a human being.
I miss Obama more with each passing day. There weren't daily Twitter blasts from the White House. We didn't have to wonder what new scandal had arisen while we slept or what new facet of incompetence had been revealed and by whom in the Cabinet or Congress, and most of all we could believe that America was respected in most of the world. Now, fuggedaboutit.
53
Hen3ry, while we do not "know" a certain thing, I think it is a certainty we can safely assume that thing. Or should we put in plural terms? Why not...
hen3ry: despite you and Frank, it is not illegal to have an affair. It is not illegal to cheat on your wife. It is not illegal to have sex with a porn star (and being a porn star is not illegal).
The affair was twelve years ago. I can't imagine why you think that would affect Trump TODAY -- the only things Stormy Daniels could say on 60 Minutes would be salacious gossip.
Have you forgotten Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky ALREADY?
Concerned Citizen, You have. Clinton was impeached for lying, not for having an affair. And the same can happen to Trump whether it's over an affair or some other item.
And again, go take your vitriol somewhere else. If you have nothing useful to contribute but antagonistic comments you're wasting space.
1
Trump is the obstructing justice — all the time.
Firing Comey.
Getting McCabe fired.
And if he fires Mueller, the Democrats will take back the Congress—and firing Mueller will be both another instance of obstruction and why Trump will get impeached.
If Trump insists he is innocent— then why didn’t he release his tax returns?
Credibility is earned.
20
What happens if Dems don’t take the House and he fires Mueller after the mid-terms? How does that play out?
4
With patriots in the streets until the investigation is allowed to resume or he resigns, whichever comes first.
1
"Besides, it’s one thing to have the lewder parts of your past aired when you’re a candidate. It’s quite another when you’re president, even a president as unconventional as Trump".
"Quite another" thing indeed, Mr. Bruni. Yet Democratic President Bill Clinton had an affair with a White House intern during office, and Democratic President John Kennedy is reported to have done similar during his term in office except disclosed years after the fact.
So weighing the comparative repellencies, I'd say it's pretty even, or perhaps in President Trump's favour as the unsavoury conduct alleged in his case occurred before he took office.
Yes?
4
It will be even, Gerald, when the House impeaches Trump for lying about his sexual exploits.
18
Since Trump cannot be embarrassed or shamed, it does make one wonder. All I can think of is that Stormy has something that will open Trump to profound ridicule concerning his sexuality, and hence his virility.
27
...or, perhaps she had an abortion..........
Mr. Bruni. You are wrong in your first declaration. Apart from his own kin - and his boss, Vladimir Putin - there is no category of person exempt from DJT's attacks. I suspect that Trump was probably asking Putin how to get a hold of some Novichok to use against Clinton, Comey and Mueller.
10
He hasn't denigrated Putin either - and no, the laughably miniscule sanctions don't count. It's pretty clear that Stormy and Putin both have something dangerous, completely humiliating or both on the UNpresident.
25
I think trump enjoys all the press about his sexual conquests, even if in reality he is only paying for sex. He probably thinks people envy him because he had sex with a porn star and a playboy bunny. How wife obviously doesn't seem to care.
9
Mr. Bruni asks the $64K question: What's behind the silence of Trump? I mean, for all intents and purposes, we know the Christian Right doesn't care about his sexual liaisons; and the CORE, well, they never gave it a thought, let alone cared. So why isn't Trump belching forth his vitriol against Stormy? Like he said, he could shoot somebody in the middle of the street and not lose any votes.
10
The bottom line is that the idiot had to pay for sex. Any college freshman knows it only counts when it's free. If she came back for more that may have been worth talking about. Poor man, no one wants him for nothing.
22
Reportedly not for sex with Stormy, though. She's in the porn industry, not prostitution. It appears, however, that he did pay for her silence.
3
HE is enough to make most Women hope for immaculate conception.
Just saying.
36
He revels in this kind of stuff. He's the Man! Well, sorta....
2
"He sits on his Twitter hands. They’re big ones, by the way. Just ask him."
Let's hope that Messrs. Trump and Bruni don't collide while speeding down the low road.
1
Trump. The greatest birth control device, ever.
34
I still don't understand the a[roval by evangelicals, toward trump. Bill Clintons problems were 20 tears ago and Fox won't let it go. This is one reason I hate religion
17
..and hate Fox News.
Yet another attempt to bring down President it is not going to happen.
What did your dear beloved John F Kennedy do in the White House?
6
Sixty years ago? Harding fathered kids in the WH closet, and that's about as relevant to today as your statement.
12
Not fair. Those ladies around JFK just wanted to do something for America.
4
Richard,
Here’s a news flash!!! JFK is dead. He can’t start a war.
Now you can go back to sleep.
13
"David Denison" aka Donald Trump having an affair with Stormy won't matter to his supporters. Hush money, bulleying and physical threats not problems either.
President Obama wearing a tan suit was a scandal these same people could never get over! Mrs Obama showing her bare arms was another unspeakable scandal.
Yet everyday Donald Trump shows his disrespect for the presidency.
Does anyone hear anything from his true believers? The silence is deafening!!!
49
The true believers attack the Times every day.
It's hard to find humor in this but the president contacting one of Bill Clinton's lawyers comes close.
40
Discipline to remain silent - give me a break.
There is only one reason: He had a performance issue that he does not want the world to know about.
He imagines himself virile and potent. He will not allow himself to be out-punched, and he knows that if the truth be known, he will be portrayed as unmanly.
If he thought the world would see something like the Tommy Lee and Pamela Andersen tape, he would be dying for it to come out because he is that low class and egotistical.
No discipline there, sorry.
41
He waded into the lawsuit to demand $20M from Stormy. I imagine he hopes to stop her from any more revelations about his tepid sexual prowess.
24
The only two people Trump hasn't attacked are Stormy and Putin. And both claim to have video. Coincidence?
60
He still loves her. She made him feel so free......
6
When a contract includes three spaces for signatures, all three spaces must be completed or else it's not a consummated contract. As far as I can tell, Stormy made away with a $130k gift since she has no legal obligation attached to receiving that money.
Why on earth would Cohen admit to the $130k payoff. That, alone, violates non-disclosure and could very well render the contract void even if Trump DID sign it. So that's two reasons that the contract won't be legally enforceable. The fact that the contract is not in the public's interest (ie, 1 week before a signatory's national election), is strike three against the validity of that agreement.
Finally, she said she had "unprotected" sex with him. It would be a total catastrophe if she managed to freeze a sample.
29
How can a contract between two fictitious names be valid?
4
The problem isn't sex between consenting adults, the problem is the payoff and the cover-up.
26
This woman is humiliating a man's family and other women actually want to watch the takedown. Sad commentary on sisterhood.
4
No, the man humiliated his family. The woman just isn't lying for him.
42
He humiliated his own family many times over.
23
Woman, do you have it backwards. But that is apparently true to form for so many "family values" Trump supporters.
1
Trump with a porn star? No one cares. Why are so-called journalists even bothering with this? Trump could have sex with a porn star in the middle of Broadway and still not lose a single vote.
4
The same reason CIA agents are relieved of duty if they develop a gambling problem -- the threat of blackmail. If he had sex on Broadway and didn't attempt to cover it up, it would amount to a giant yawn. But he's desperately trying to keep this and a bunch of others secret. Evidently there are dozens more women with NDAs. It's a national security issue, and one Americans have every right to know the disposition of.
3
Maybe Trump actually loves the porn star scandal, because it's keeping the press occupied and away from the things they should be investigating, like the impact of his administration's policies (and lack of policies).
17
Or the policies the Democrats could offer that the voting public would like so much better than his.
Then again, it does not seem the Democrats seeking donor money want to talk about that either.
2
Or is it that the press can't stop watching the circus. I do wish we could have some news coverage of actual issues.
6
Clifford, McDougal, Mueller, Comey, Trump--- a struggle among Republicans.
On Saturday the magic of kids in motion, energized by profound passion will be lighting up the country. The contrast is striking. I think Frank is looking in the wrong direction.
5
C'mon. Stormy has made him a bigger hero to his base. He doesn't care about the marital fall-out. There is none. Malaria produced another heir, maybe one with brains. At least another proof of his manliness. A financial arrangement to the benefit of both parties. As long as she remains a perfect trophy wife. Stormy and the string of bimbos sure to surface are more proof that 'when you're a star they let you grab 'em'. Promise them a shot on the Apprentice, and you can chase them around in your big boy briefs all you want.
24
"and who can apparently do anything shy of converting to Islam and not fret about his evangelical base." Trump could convert to Islam and take on three more wives and tge evangelicals would roll with it as long as he kept delivering. Their support for him is cynical enough to survive most anything.
51
This is likely to trigger a #HeAssaultedMeToo movement. This man is so filthy that by simple association everybody around him must be filthy too including his wife, kids and circle of friends & aficionados. With the new admission today by another woman that he had an affair with her, i am curious to see how the righteous and "Whiteous" Evangelicals react to all this.
25
The NYT's infatuation with this Presidents sex life is worthy of the National Enquirer.
5
don't read it then
13
Well, we haven't spent nearly as many taxpayer dollars investigating Trump's sex life yet as the Republicans did on Clinton's. Don't you think the taxpayers deserve to hear the color of the dress Stormy Daniels was wearing and the precise sex acts they performed, like we found out from Kenneth Starr?
16
Bruni makes a key point about Trump: "... instead of a mad, lonely king ranting in his castle, he is actually a profoundly flawed tactician playing his own pale version of chess."
Trump has not spoken out against Daniels because he understands the meaning of a non-disclosure agreement. He will not speak while he still has a chance to intimidate, litigate or otherwise force Daniels to remain silent. If he fails with Daniels, there are likely several other women who will emerge.
I doubt Trump's main concern is the revelation of sexual proclivities. I bet it has more to do with the timing and financing of the NDAs, and the methods used to remind the women of their obligation not to speak.
18
Instead of playing chess, I think Trump is playing a twitter version of Hangman.
7
Would love to be a fly on the wall as 45 watches the perfect Stormy on "60 Minutes" this Sunday. Especially as his sweaty little palms hold his cellphone afterwards as he prepares his take-no-prisoners Tweet regarding this piece of historic "Fake News." Meanwhile, FOXsters will be ramping up their Quantum Spin Multiphasic Generators, checking range and wind direction. The battle will be epic, Armageddonic, insane to the max, and found only in America.
Impressive: 45 is worth pondering and checking in on even on a Sunday. Not since Nixon have we had such must-watch TV programming regarding the White House. Ratings could rival the last episodes of "M*A*S*H*," "Roots," or "Cheers."
17
trump is really inhumane and cruel dealing with people and there is a special place in hell for this moron. Bob Mueller might get to him before the moron gets to Mueller.
If no one else, Stefanie Clifford aka Ms. Stormy Daniels will get to trump before anyone else. I simply hope someone does not harm Ms. Clifford as I understand there has been threats.
If that means Mike Pence will take the Presidency, he will be so easy to beat, a man with squinty eyes and no personality !
15
"Free sex" is the great rallying cry of the Left. How can they now turn this against Trump?
5
It's "free love," except that was 1968.
11
Sex seems cost Trump about $130,000 to $150,000 a pop. You call that free?
13
love = sex
I’m always surprised by Trump supporters, especially those white males and their continued support for him. But Mr. Bruni gets it close when he writes “Where the rest of us see reckless infidelity, he sees a buxom conquest that lesser Lotharios can only dream about.”
These supporters instead being repulse look at him in awe.
Very sad
12
Botox producers must be happy
7
The rivers of slime Trump generates have to catch up with him at some point. Stormy Daniels would be a great point.
11
I did not want to respond when people tried to drag me into a discussion of presidential stains on Monica's blue dress, and I do not want to be dragged into responding on this revolting president's never ending sexcapades. Would love to return to the Kennedy - Monroe era.
3
Melania, Run! This is your moment to scram.
The world is behind you.
13
Maybe The Donald is Stormy’s baby daddy? Or maybe The Donald gave her hush money to not talk about having an abortion?
Tune in for the next exciting episode of America’s President! Imagine the ratings, Donald! Best ratings ever! Nobody ever imagined the ratings will be so high!
18
Oooooooh. Love you Frank Bruni.
11
Personally, I prefer to think that he repels not just women but, you know, people.
35
I can't get over the fact that 52% of white women voted for him after that gross Hollywood tape. Talk about living in parallel universes...
37
Everyone knows he's guilty and the ones that don't are stupid. The only way to get that canker out is to march in the streets and do stuff to shutdown government anything less will not work. The longer the canker grows the more contamination it'll cause ruining the social fabric that is good and moral. So do something about it.
10
Donald Trump had consensual sex in 2006 with a woman who happens to be an adult film star.
So what...
5
Right, so why is he lying about it? He paid her ten years later, and perhaps from campaign dollars.
19
It's all about the gag orders.
It's always the coverup, not the "crime" that gets you all the time.
10
Firstly consensual cheating is still cheating. Secondly, if it was no big deal, why the hush money?
8
Who will Trump fire on Friday to deflect attention from Sunday's 60 Minutes interview? Sessions? Rosenstein? It has to be somebody major.
22
I disagree about kin being the only category of people exempt from his verbal attacks. How about strongmen like Putin? Here it is all milk and honey.
6
Donald, if you have to pay for it, you're no stud. Just saying.
33
You don't understand the psychology of men who patronize prostitutes: As the Mayflower Madam observed in instructing her "girls" on the men they service: "They (the men) are not paying for the sex. They are paying for you to go away."
9
Trump opens his mouth, the NDA is null. That explains everything.
21
Since Ms. Clifford's lawsuit was filed in California, could the lawmakers of California do something about this? NDA contracts serve many legitimate business purposes, but protecting an elected politician from embarrassment should not be one of them. Could the California pass a law holding that NDAs created in this spirit are unenforceable, much as California holds non-compete agreements as unenforceable?
7
The tawdry stuff will come out eventually, and the 40 percent will not waiver in their support for this president. Character means nothing.
5
Sometimes what a person doesn't say is more telling than what they say on any topic. I guess Ms. Daniels struck a raw nerve with Trump.
10
Dear Frank, I believe, "The Donald", repels anybody with a functional brain above the cerebellum. I do not think that birds and reptiles like him much either. I'm not sure if slime mold would hang out with him. He is in a phylum unto himself. He is,"The Donald", nobody will ever take that away from him. He has taken advantage of anyone he finds useful to his non purpose. Clueless in Oregon.RAW
6
Everything I read only strengthens my opinion of him as the all time classic low life this country has ever produced. Surely his end is coming. If not, then we have failed as a country worthy of respect.
20
I agree. Your country has not been worthy of respect for quite some time, in case you haven't noticed.
2
Meowch! That hurt. But only because it’s true.
I do not understand the consistent solicitude of the Times and others for Mrs. Trump. She is constantly portrayed as a victim - why? She could not have been blind to his history, and may very well be his ruthless, narcissistic and self-dealing equal.
Besides if a guy will pay $130K to buy silence for a tawdry temporary interlude, what must the addenda to her pre-nup indicate about her rewards for feigning love, affection and dutiful spousitude while he's in-office? It's got to be worth $Millions.
21
I note some of the reader letters talk about how Trump's supporters not only give him a pass on his character flaws, they seem to expect them. I used to think this was because they saw him as their hard-fighting champion, who they needed to support through thick and thin. But I now think there is another factor: his fame. They see him as a larger than life figure, not just as a guy in a lofty office. No doubt TV helped with that. We should remember that as a CEO he made many mistakes and harmed thousand of contractors. He was a lousy boss and a lousy CEO. Many banks now won't loan to him. I have met dozens of CEOs and senior executives who are smarter, more competent, and better bosses, and who have greater experience and self-control than Trump. He is inferior in almost every way to them, except for fame. He is just a bad boss, which is why he can't hold on to employees. If I am right, to beat him Republican and Democrat candidates may need more than just great ideas, competence, and likability. They may need a dose of TV fame.
7
As often, you use your criticism of the President to couch him in preferential terms. Are you kidding? Do you really think that Mr. Trump has enough check on his libido to act as if he knows which pieces are moving on the chess board. Mr. Bruni, you flatter him with faint praise.
4
How about this simple explanation for why DJT does not attack Mme Stormy ?: the president really likes her. If, someday, he dislikes her, then he will "attack" her with some name-calling, say Catty Stormy, like a teenager would do. But the president's usual name-calling is not really an attack, it is just backlash/reaction from an infantile mind. I got used to that. Such behaviour is not something with which to empathize IF DJT has always been childish, but I would show him some sympathy IF his current immaturity is the result of ageing. There is limited satisfaction that we should derive from mocking and criticizing a mentally-disabled old man, the only justification for that being that he is the president.
5