One thing Donald Trump has done is to normalize craziness in the White House. We have come to expect some type of off-the-wall statement or behavior on the part of the president nearly every day. We are no longer surprised or shocked at scandals, because they have become the norm during Trump’s presidency.
For example, the Stormy Daniels story of illicit sex and hush money payoffs used to be a big deal and capture major headlines. Now it is “ho-hum” because we have become so desensitized to scandal. But it actually is a big deal, as her attorney Michael Avenatti keeps trying to remind us. It actually isn’t normal for a president to have paid off so many women with whom he had extramarital affairs. And we really should be shocked.
“Congratulations @stormydaniels on your amazing new book “Full Disclosure” – http://www.stormybook.com . I am excited for the world to learn who you really are and the truth about your incredible story. #Hero #TeamStormy“
Congratulations @stormydaniels on your amazing new book “Full Disclosure” – https://t.co/KbDHHY7KaT. I am excited for the world to learn who you really are and the truth about your incredible story. #Hero #TeamStormy pic.twitter.com/nKstg500hC
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— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 12, 2018
Yesterday Daniels went on television and announced that she — like so many other people who have had dealings with Donald Trump — is coming out with a new “tell-all” book. It is called ‘Full Disclosure’ and she says it will include all the steamy details of her affair with the president.
The first question I have is this: do we really want to know those details?
I guess Daniels and her publisher believe that we do, because she is being paid good money to tell her story. (The exact amount has not been disclosed.)
Daniels of course is the porn star and film producer who sued President Donald Trump trying to get out of the contract she signed in which she promised to stay silent about her “alleged sexual encounter” with Trump.
“Everybody knows that a lot of the ’60 Minutes’ interview was cut down for time and there are things that I said in my interview that I really wanted people to know that are very important to me that I didn’t get to say,” Daniels said Wednesday on ABC’s “The View.”
“I was like, I’m going to write everything and include it, and people can think what they want about me. But at least it’s the truth,” Daniels added.
Daniels also said when she heard that Trump‘s personal attorney Michael Cohen testified that Trump had “directed” him to make the $130,000 payment, she began to cry. She said:
“That news was like a punch in the gut. I was so overwhelmed I just broke down into sobs, because I didn’t realize how much pressure I had felt. You know, people call me all kinds of names and who cares, but to be called a liar, and people not believe me for months and months. It was like so, yes! Vindicated! I felt like all this weight came off my shoulders.”
Cohen told federal judge that he had paid Daniels $130,000 for signing the non-disclosure agreement 11 days before the 2016 presidential election in which Trump was elected. In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges that arose from the payment. Trump‘s former “fixer” also admitted he made the payment on behalf of Trump to keep the affair secret so it would not influence the election.
According to Daniels her book will go on sale October 2nd.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
