Donald Trump still has not outright condemned the domestic violence allegations against his maligned former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter, who abruptly resigned last week after it was reported that he had abused both of his ex-wives. While the White House spun into a frenzy of who knew what when, as it was revealed that an ongoing FBI probe had been preventing Porter from receiving full security clearance — Trump on the other hand, couldn’t seem to say nice enough things about the guy.
On Friday, the president lamented how sad he was about the whole thing, wishing Porter well and stating that he hoped he’d “have a great career ahead of him” — then lashing out on Twitter the following morning about how “peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation.”
While fielding questions following a working session in the Oval Office on Wednesday however, a reporter finally got Trump to admit that domestic violence is bad:
“I am totally opposed to domestic violence, and everybody here knows that. I am totally opposed to domestic violence of any kind, everyone knows that, and it almost wouldn’t even have to be said. So, now you hear it, and you all know it.”
Previously, Trump has only commented on his questionable opposition to domestic violence through his mouthpiece, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Sanders herself raises eyebrows, as it came out earlier this week that she reportedly orchestrated a secret, off-the-record meeting between Porter and several reporters to try to get ahead of the scandal, which was apparently news to Chief of Staff John Kelly.