Faced with sex scandals, Donald Trump seems untouchable
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Accused of having had extramarital affairs and inappropriate gestures towards women, Donald Trump nevertheless seems relatively spared from the controversy. Decryption of a paradox
The day after the interview with pornstar Stormy Daniels aired, the White House's reaction was unequivocal. "I would say that the president has strongly, clearly and constantly denied" these accusations, Raj Shah, the deputy spokesman for the US executive, assured reporters on Monday. He added that "the president does not think" that Stormy Daniels was threatened in 2011.
Already mired in a kind of permanent chaos, the White House must face new accusations: those of alleged former mistresses of the American president. The most visible being former pornstar Stormy Daniels, who said Sunday night that she was threatened by the president's entourage after sleeping with him in 2006 - which Donald Trump denies.
In this age of the #MeToo feminist movement and in the wake of the Weinstein affair, the case could be serious. But Donald Trump, used to being accused of infidelity and inappropriate actions towards women, seems untouchable. The media and legal whirlwind does not seem to reach him. Or so little. Even words like "I'm a star, I can do anything I want with women, including grabbing them by the genitals", unveiled in the middle of the presidential campaign, did not bring him down. Why?
Historian Corentin Sellin, passionate about American politics, has an explanation. “The relative impunity he seems to enjoy in the face of the wave of the #MeToo movement can already be explained by the chronology. His worst behaviors were exposed in public when he was a candidate, long before the Weinstein affair. Those who elected him therefore spoke with full knowledge of the facts. "
He adds that most of the charges against the president are facts dating back to the 1980s and 1990s and are therefore time-barred. "Donald Trump is also protected by financial confidentiality agreements which make it very difficult to exhumate possible crimes or reveal agreed links." His lawyer Michael Cohen even has a real protection system to cover up cases related to his tumultuous life. Pressure, blackmail: all blows are allowed.
"He lied, tried to intimidate me"
These days, two women are particularly talked about: Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels, pornstar, and Karen McDougal, a former playmate. (Fake) blonde Stormy Daniels claims to have had a secret relationship with Donald Trump in 2006 and 2007, when he was already married to Melania. She would have received $ 130,000 for not reporting it. She filed a complaint to break this confidentiality clause, and has just published the results of lie detector tests in her favor.
"Those who elected Donald Trump have spoken with full knowledge of the facts"
“Technically, I haven't slept with the President of the United States twelve years ago. There was no bedtime (hey! Hey!) And he was just a wacky reality star. […] But it's important for people (to know) that he lied, tried to intimidate me, broke laws to cover up the case, etc. ”, the porn actress tweeted last Tuesday .
Similar scenario from the side of the brunette Karen McDougal. On Tuesday, she filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against the American Media Group (AMI), asking to invalidate an exclusivity clause. She thought her story would be published. She was wrong. The National Enquirer (who had previously covered Harvey Weinstein's actions) allegedly bought his testimony with the intention of never publishing it, to protect Donald Trump. She claims to have received $ 150,000. Half was reportedly paid to her lawyer, who she accuses of being linked to the Trump clan.
Karen McDougal gave exclusive testimony to one of CNN's star journalists, Anderson Cooper, confessions which aired Thursday night. Anderson Cooper also met Stormy Daniels, whose interview aired Sunday night on CBS.
At the same time, a third woman, Summer Zervos, resurfaces. This ex-candidate of The Apprentice, the reality show at the time presented by Donald Trump, accuses him of having caressed and forcibly kissed her in 2007. A case different from the previous ones since it is about this time of constraint.
Evangelists close their eyes
In these cases, the lawyer war revolves around money. Donald Trump could be charged with election law violations if it is proven that these cash payments were intended to influence the 2016 election.
"More often than not, the great politico-sex scandals in the United States are not about the acts of adultery themselves but about the lies and cover-up efforts to cover them up"
But beyond these agitations, financial temptations or the desire to expose oneself to the media, it is indeed Donald Trump's relationship with women that is once again highlighted. In this Puritan America, politicians have had to resign over matters of infidelity and inappropriate behavior. Donald Trump remains standing. In all, recalls USA Today, there are 19 women, including porn actresses and former Miss, who accuse him of constraints or of wanting to silence them in order to silence an affair.
"On the image of 'Puritan' America, we have to put it into perspective," notes Corentin Sellin. Certainly, international opinion was shocked by the impeachment lawsuit brought against President Clinton in the Senate in 1999, after his affair with Monica Lewinsky. This is to forget that Bill Clinton was not accused for his affair itself, but for the lies he was guilty of during the Starr investigation, as well as the possible obstruction of justice during the exercise of his duties to prevent disclosure of his affair. " Bill Clinton's sexual escapades were already known in 1992 and that did not prevent him from becoming president.
More often than not, the great politico-sexual scandals in the United States are not about the facts of adultery themselves but about the lies and cover-up efforts to hide them, the historian recalls. "But in Trump's case, there is a hiatus between the moral values of his white evangelical base, his most solid foundation - 81% of evangelicals voted for him in 2016 - and his sexual behavior."
However, the historian refers to the results of an interesting survey by think tanks PRRI and Brookings, published just before the election: 72% of evangelists admitted that a politician who committed an immoral private act could still fulfill his public office. They were only 30% in 2011. “This development, confirmed by other surveys during the #MeToo wave, shows that evangelical whites are first and foremost political conservatives who happen to be believers, and no longer. the reverse, comments Corentin Sellin. Their first objective is the achievement of their political agenda. And from that point of view, Trump never misses an opportunity to reassure and satisfy them. ”
So far, the White House has brushed aside all accusations. But some tweets and statements are not misleading. "I am automatically attracted to the beautiful, I kiss them right away": this is what Donald Trump said during the famous video that triggered the Pussygate. He was filmed without his knowledge in 2005, while preparing for an NBC show. The recording was released four weeks before the presidential election. Trump lost support, Trump apologized, and Trump was elected. The anger of the women was manifested through the Women’s March, the day after she was sworn in. Without much effect.
Support for men accused of harassment
Recently, when two White House executives were accused of domestic violence, Donald Trump took up their defense. He also lent his support to former Fox News boss Roger Ailes and one of his star hosts, Bill O’Reilly, two Republicans accused of sexual harassment. It was in this context that he had this famous line about journalist Megan Kelly: "You could see blood squirting from her eyes, blood squirting from her ... wherever it was."
By dint of spreading sexist remarks, one might think that Donald Trump trivializes violence against women and also legitimizes misogyny and the perception of women as a sexual object. But he is also recognized for having given positions of responsibility to women. Like his own daughter, Ivanka. About which he dared to say, "If she wasn't my daughter, we would probably be dating."
Stormy Daniels, a testimony for the prosecution
American pornographic star Stormy Daniels claimed on Sunday that she was threatened by the Trump clan to hide a sexual relationship with the president dating from July 2006.
On Sunday, in a much-anticipated interview with the famous 60 Minutes on CBS, Stephanie Clifford, her real name, recounted being approached by a stranger in a parking lot in Las Vegas while in the company of her daughter a few months old.
“Leave Trump alone. Forget this story, "the stranger would have told him. "She's a very pretty little girl," he would have said, looking at Stormy Daniels' daughter. "It would be a shame if something happened to his mother," he reportedly added, before leaving.
The man was referring to an interview that Stephanie Clifford had just given to In Touch magazine, for $ 15,000, revealing the existence of a sexual relationship between her and Donald Trump. The interview will ultimately never be published.
The pornographic actress and director was speaking publicly on the subject for the first time since the Wall Street Journal reported in January.
On the CBS show, Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti again suggested that the actress had evidence of her relationship with Donald Trump in her possession. Stormy Daniels implied that these elements would be revealed later, without further clarification.
In early March, the actress took legal action to officially release her from her confidentiality agreement. Legal proceedings are pending in federal court in California.
Separate room
In 2006 and 2007, years during which they were in contact, according to her, the New York promoter was already married to Melania Trump. Stormy Daniels explained that she spoke to Donald Trump about his family situation. "Don't worry about it, he would have replied. We are doing separate rooms. ”
The president has previously denied an intimate relationship with the 39-year-old actress and director, who offered to repay the $ 130,000 made in 2016 in exchange for his silence.
On the other hand, one of the billionaire’s lawyers, Michael Cohen, admitted to having paid the sum, saying he drew on his personal funds, while disputing the existence of this relationship.
