Trump White House Finally Confronts A Scandal It Canât Quash With An âAlternative Factâ
#MeToo and photos of an ex-wifeâs bruised eye forced Trumpâs staff to back away from original explanations â and shredded the presidentâs credibility even further.
WASHINGTON â From their first full day in office with claims of massive, record-setting inaugural crowds, President Donald Trump and his top aides have been a virtual juggernaut of dishonesties and falsehoods, seemingly immune to normal White House standards of candor and accuracy.
Until this month.
Two weeksâ worth of shifting explanations about a key staffer accused of domestic violence have accomplished what a full year of fact-checking thousands of untruths could not: put the White House on the defensive and shredded its credibility.
âAt long last, something Donald Trump couldnât bullshit his way out of,â said Rick Wilson, a Florida GOP consultant who has been calling Trump a liar since the start of presidential primary campaign in 2015.
But why has the Rob Porter story persisted when all the others did not?
âAttachment to a larger narrative and a provocative visual,â said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a communications professor and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
The larger narrative is the Me Too movement, where women across the country and around the world have spoken out about long-quashed experiences of sexual harassment and abuse. And the provocative visual was the photograph of Colbie Holdernessâ bruised eye, which she said was the result of a punch Porter threw during the coupleâs vacation to Italy in 2005.
Until that photo of Porterâs first ex-wife surfaced, White House chief of staff John Kelly had been offering testimonials for his trusted aide. With the arrival of Kelly in August and his attempts to bring order to what had been a chaotic White House, Porter as staff secretary had become a key player in limiting access and information to Trump.
His work, under Kellyâs direction, dramatically reduced the unscheduled visits Trump received from random West Wing staffers and the number of unverified ânewsâ articles that wound up on his desk.
To protect his aide and ally, Kelly and other top White House staffers praised Porter, even though the White House had received a full FBI security clearance background investigation into Porter last summer, according to Senate testimony by bureau director Christopher Wray. That report almost certainly included stories of abuse from both of Porterâs ex-wifes â allegations that typically doom a security clearance approval.
All of that changed when the photo spread across the internet and cable television, putting a human face on Porterâs alleged actions. That set off a dizzying series of revised statements. At first, the White House claimed that Porter resigned on his own but would stay on through a âtransition.â But within a day, that had evolved into Kelly having forced Porter to leave within 40 minutes of seeing the photo.
âI think the photo had a real impact on people,â said Rick Tyler, a Republican political consultant who worked for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2016 GOP primaries. âThey went into their normal mode, which is deflect everything, deny everything, fake news everything.â
The problem for the White House was that journalists could see the new explanations contradicting others issued just hours earlier and were quick to point them out. This angered even reporters who in the past year have enjoyed good access to top White House staff.
âNormally reporters donât know a lie is a lie in real time,â said a Republican official who supports Trump and spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss his partyâs leader. âIâm amazed that this is a story that keeps going. They havenât found a way to put this thing away.â
More: Trump White House Finally Confronts A Scandal It Canât Quash With An âAlternative Fact'
Trump can't lie his way out of this one or pull his fake news routine. There is too much evidence - and women are pissed. Should be an interesting press briefing tomorrow.
#MeToo and photos of an ex-wifeâs bruised eye forced Trumpâs staff to back away from original explanations â and shredded the presidentâs credibility even further.
WASHINGTON â From their first full day in office with claims of massive, record-setting inaugural crowds, President Donald Trump and his top aides have been a virtual juggernaut of dishonesties and falsehoods, seemingly immune to normal White House standards of candor and accuracy.
Until this month.
Two weeksâ worth of shifting explanations about a key staffer accused of domestic violence have accomplished what a full year of fact-checking thousands of untruths could not: put the White House on the defensive and shredded its credibility.
âAt long last, something Donald Trump couldnât bullshit his way out of,â said Rick Wilson, a Florida GOP consultant who has been calling Trump a liar since the start of presidential primary campaign in 2015.
But why has the Rob Porter story persisted when all the others did not?
âAttachment to a larger narrative and a provocative visual,â said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a communications professor and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
The larger narrative is the Me Too movement, where women across the country and around the world have spoken out about long-quashed experiences of sexual harassment and abuse. And the provocative visual was the photograph of Colbie Holdernessâ bruised eye, which she said was the result of a punch Porter threw during the coupleâs vacation to Italy in 2005.
Until that photo of Porterâs first ex-wife surfaced, White House chief of staff John Kelly had been offering testimonials for his trusted aide. With the arrival of Kelly in August and his attempts to bring order to what had been a chaotic White House, Porter as staff secretary had become a key player in limiting access and information to Trump.
His work, under Kellyâs direction, dramatically reduced the unscheduled visits Trump received from random West Wing staffers and the number of unverified ânewsâ articles that wound up on his desk.
To protect his aide and ally, Kelly and other top White House staffers praised Porter, even though the White House had received a full FBI security clearance background investigation into Porter last summer, according to Senate testimony by bureau director Christopher Wray. That report almost certainly included stories of abuse from both of Porterâs ex-wifes â allegations that typically doom a security clearance approval.
All of that changed when the photo spread across the internet and cable television, putting a human face on Porterâs alleged actions. That set off a dizzying series of revised statements. At first, the White House claimed that Porter resigned on his own but would stay on through a âtransition.â But within a day, that had evolved into Kelly having forced Porter to leave within 40 minutes of seeing the photo.
âI think the photo had a real impact on people,â said Rick Tyler, a Republican political consultant who worked for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2016 GOP primaries. âThey went into their normal mode, which is deflect everything, deny everything, fake news everything.â
The problem for the White House was that journalists could see the new explanations contradicting others issued just hours earlier and were quick to point them out. This angered even reporters who in the past year have enjoyed good access to top White House staff.
âNormally reporters donât know a lie is a lie in real time,â said a Republican official who supports Trump and spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss his partyâs leader. âIâm amazed that this is a story that keeps going. They havenât found a way to put this thing away.â
More: Trump White House Finally Confronts A Scandal It Canât Quash With An âAlternative Fact'
Trump can't lie his way out of this one or pull his fake news routine. There is too much evidence - and women are pissed. Should be an interesting press briefing tomorrow.
