Donald Trump's Alleged Affairs and Cheating Scandals: What You Need to Know
Here's Everything You Need to Know About Donald Trump's Alleged Marital Infidelity
Stormy Daniels, a porn star and director, has claimed she had an affair with Former President Donald Trump after meeting him at a Lake Tahoe celebrity golf tournament in July 2006. At the time, Trump was wed to Melania Trump, who had recently given birth to their son Barron. What followed was an avalanche of headlines about his alleged unfaithfulness. However, it wasn't the first time Trump faced backlash for his treatment of women or found himself at the center of a widely reported infidelity story. Here's a look back at some of the other cheating accusations that have been made against Trump as well as his response to them.
1. Ivana Trump
Trump's first marriage to Ivana was plastered across New York's tabloids when his scandalous affair with Marla Maples came to light. While vacationing with his wife and mistress in Aspen, Maples confronted Ivana with the infamous line, "I'm Marla, and I love your husband. Do you?" Trump, seemingly hungry for fame, made sure to keep his name in the headlines by leaking details to the papers. The New York Post splashed the salacious quote from Maples across its cover: "Best sex I ever had!" She was referring to Trump, though he was still married to Ivana at the time. Trump then dumped his wife and mother of his three children for his younger mistress in a divorce that rocked New York's social scene.
2. Marla Maples
As stated, Trump and Maples started dating when he was still wed to Ivana, although Maples claims she never considered herself to be the future president's mistress. Trump famously pretended to be his own spokesperson, "John Miller," while he was seeing Maples. He told a reporter that he had 'three other girlfriends' at the time and that he would never marry Maples. Sue Carswell subsequently "called Marla and played the tape. Maples burst into tears and confirmed the voice was Trump’s," according to Trump Revealed in the book written by Washington Post reporters Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher, as per Mother Jones.
3. Melania Trump
The Wall Street Journal revealed that Stephanie Clifford, a porn star, was allegedly paid over $130,000 by Trump's attorney to keep quiet about their alleged 2006 affair, which occurred a year after Trump married Melania. In the porn industry, Clifford, 38, goes by "Stormy Daniels." She claimed to have had a sexual encounter with Trump at a celebrity golf tournament. In November 2016, The Wall Street Journal published an article on yet another alleged affair that occurred in the same year (2006) as the one with Clifford.
4. Trump's Alleged Sexual Harassment
According to AP News, a month prior to the 2016 presidential election, a leaked recording revealed Trump boasting about grabbing women's genitalia while being taped for Access Hollywood in 2005. The tape was recorded on a hot mic. Several women came forward against Trump's history of sexual harassment in that year. 19 women have claimed that Trump has harassed them sexually. The public accusations date back to the 1980s and involve a variety of people, including adult film stars, People Magazine journalists, Fox News journalists, and former The Apprentice participants. According to reports, several of the instances took place when Trump was married.
5. Trump's Denial of These Claims
In response to the harassment charges, Trump labeled all of the victims as 'horrible, horrible liars,' denied any wrongdoing, and insisted that the mainstream media and Hillary Clinton, his opponent at the time, were part of a wider conspiracy, as per The 19th. Regarding infidelity in marriage, The Hill conducted a comprehensive survey to find out whether or not people believed that Trump had been a faithful husband. Of American voters, only 18% said he had been a faithful husband, while 56% said he had not been loyal, according to a Quinnipiac poll. 26% indicated that they were unsure.
