One of the biggest news stories of the week has been the recent lawsuit filed by adult film star Stormy Daniels against Donald Trump. After Sarah Huckabee Sanders addressed the issue with the media, the president was reportedly not pleased.
From @Acosta: A source close to White House says Trump is upset with @PressSec Sarah Sanders over her handling of Stormy Daniels questions yesterday. “POTUS is very unhappy,” the source said. “Sarah gave the Stormy Daniels storyline steroids yesterday,” the source added.
— David Wright (@DavidWright_CNN) March 8, 2018
Trump on Sanders
It's been well-documented that Donald Trump has had a controversial history with women.
From his questionable remarks, to the release of the now infamous "Access Hollywood" tape, to the list of women accusing him of various forms of sexual misconduct, the former host of "The Apprentice" has been forced to deal with the allegations. The latest issue stems from Stormy Daniels, an adult film star who has been linked to an extramarital affair with the president dating back to 2006, just a year after the start of Trump's marriage to First Lady Melania Trump.
Trump Reportedly Angry With Sarah Sanders: She ‘Gave the Stormy Daniels Storyline Steroids’ (VIDEO) https://t.co/KfaSU8daPX pic.twitter.com/leCevRaxZy
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) March 8, 2018
The president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen reportedly paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 in hush money during the 2016 election, but she is now suing the president over the nondisclosure agreement that allegedly didn't include Trump's signature.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did her best to deflect from the news, but her effort didn't go over well with Trump. According to CNN's Jim Acosta on March 8, Trump is "very unhappy" with how Sanders handled her response, adding that CNN's source noted that the president believes "Sarah gave the Stormy Daniels story-line steroids yesterday."
Legal rebuttal
Sarah Sanders told the press that Donald Trump had not only denied the allegations against him, but that the matter was already settled in arbitration.
During an interview on MSNBC later in the day, Stormy Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti pushed back against Sanders' remarks. "I’m confident she (Sanders) didn’t know it was nonsense when she effectively told that to the world," Avenatti said, before referring to Sanders' comments as "absolutely bogus" and "nonsense."
Next up
Despite the latest revelations about the Stormy Daniels scandal, Donald Trump has yet to make a public statement of his own.
Additional reporting notes that the issue has caused problems in the relationship with the first couple, which was highlighted when Melania Trump canceled her scheduled appearance with the president during a recent overseas trip. The two also failed to publicly acknowledge each other on their wedding anniversary last month, as well as on Valentine's Day.
