Trump comments create firestorm
President Donald Trump on Friday defended former aide Rob Porter, wishing him well in his future endeavors without any mention of the two ex-wives who have accused Porter of physical and emotional abuse.
Trump’s comments set off a firestorm at a time of national conversation about the mistreatment of women. And they came amid rampant White House fingerpointing about who knew what, and when, about the severity of the spousal abuse allegations.
Trump said Porter, who resigned when the abuse allegations became public this week, had “worked hard” at the White House and wished him well. “He said very strongly yesterday that he’s innocent,” Trump added.
Trump’s comments drew immediate condemnation from women’s groups and Democrats.
They came amid swirling questions about how White House chief of staff John Kelly had handled the matter and whether he could maintain his job despite Trump’s growing frustration. They also raised questions about how seriously the president takes allegations of domestic abuse.
Also Friday, a second White House staffer, speechwriter David Sorensen, resigned as a result of abuse allegations.
Spokesman Raj Shah said the White House learned Thursday night about the allegations before being contacted by the media. “We immediately confronted the staffer, he denied the allegations and he resigned today,” said Shah. Sorensen worked for the Council on Environmental Quality, which is part of the Executive Office of the President.
The chief of staff’s handling of the matter has drawn the ire of Trump, according to two people who speak to the president regularly but are not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations. Trump has complained that Kelly did not bring the Porter allegations to him sooner, adding to his frustrations about the chief of staff’s attempts to control him and Kelly’s recent inflammatory comments about immigrants.
Trump has begun floating possible names for a future chief of staff in conversations with outside advisers, according to three people with knowledge of the conversations. Among the names being considered: Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Mark Meadows and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
The president’s glowing praise of a staff member accused of serial violence against women was similar to Trump’s own denials of sexual impropriety in the face of accusations from more than a dozen women.
National Women’s Law Center General Counsel Emily Martin said Trump’s reaction to the allegations against Porter speaks to the willingness of many to believe the accused rather than the accusers. “What that clearly says to me is that the president is one of those people who either automatically disbelieves women and believes men, or arguably even worse, believes the woman who makes the allegations but thinks that should not be a barrier to her abuser’s success.”