Donald Trump has held off attacking the women who claimed they had an affair with him shortly after his wife gave birth to their son, but that could soon be changing.
A new report from the Wall Street Journal (via The Cut ) claims that Trump has been asking some of his closest advisers whether he should take to Twitter and attack the women. The two who have been generating the most headlines — adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal — have both made allegations that Trump carried on an affair around 2006, just after the birth of his son, Barron.
As the report noted, Trump has decided to remain silent on the allegations for now as they are not hurting him politically.
“His advisers have told him that there is no sign the allegations are hurting him with voters and have warned him that it would look inappropriate for the president to engage in a public spat with, among others, a former porn star. He has remained silent on the allegations, despite extensive coverage on the cable-news channels he watches closely, advisers said.”
Donald Trump has never been one to shy away from fights on Twitter. The New York Times has even compiled a comprehensive list of 425 instances of Trump using Twitter to attack his enemies, ranging from Democrats to Republicans to NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem. Even many former allies have found themselves in the crosshairs, including Stephen Bannon.
It is not clear how long Donald Trump will remain silent on his women accusers. He had previously been aggressive in denouncing the dozens of women who accused him of acting in a sexually inappropriate manner, including some who claimed he sexually assaulted them. Before the 2016 election, Trump promised that he would be taking the women to court for the claims, though that never came to pass after he was elected president.
Both Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels are also becoming increasingly vocal with their claims. McDougal just appeared on CNN for an interview sharing details about the affair (and apologizing to Melania Trump for participating in the extramarital affair), and Daniels is set to appear on 60 Minutes on Sunday.
Daniels is also taking court action to be released from a non-disclosure agreement set by Trump’s lawyer that bars her from sharing details — including photo and video evidence — with the public.
To many in the capital, Stephanie Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels, has become an unexpected force. It is she, some in Washington now joke, and not the special counsel, who could topple Trump. https://t.co/hDaCJfSomQ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 24, 2018
To date, Donald Trump has still not mentioned either Stormy Daniels or Karen McDougal on Twitter.