By Faustino Galante

Trump’s affair with Stormy Daniels reflects poorly on his reputation (Courtesy of Facebook).

In July of 2006, adult film star, Stormy Daniels allegedly met President Donald J. Trump at a charity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. According to Daniels, Trump, who was married at the time and expecting his fifth child, Baron, invited the actress to dinner and took her back to his hotel room after. Though Trump and his lawyers have “vehemently” denied it, Daniels has publically claimed that she and Trump had sex in the room.

Lately, the Trump-Daniels affair has received a great deal of media attention. This past January, The Washington Post published an expose which detailed allegations that, prior to the 2016 election, Trump’s legal team supposedly paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) regarding the alleged affair. Following the report, Trump and his team completely denied its credibility. More recently, amid threats from Daniels and her lawyers, Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, revealed that he, from his own pocket, funded the agreement prior to the election and without Mr. Trump’s knowledge.

In the midst of growing coverage concerning the affair, many people have argued that the media attention is not necessary. Columnists such as Dahleen Glanton of The Chicago Tribune have noted that focusing on the topic simply distracts Americans from focusing on more important issues. Media outlets such as Fox News have reportedly “shelved” the story and tried their best to not utter the words “Trump” and “porn star” in the same sentence while on air. The recent stories regarding the suspected affair, however, are important. The alleged actions of Trump and his legal team are reminiscent of a cover-up, one which may have potentially breached our country’s legal system. Trump’s supposed activities are both hypocritical and lack a high degree of moral character.

As mentioned above, following The Washington Post’s initial report on the incident, the president and his legal team denied any connection between Trump and Daniels. The White House condemned the media for using “old, recycled reports” and refuted the validity of this story. Trump’s lawyers also made sure to disavow any notion of a nondisclosure agreement existing between the two parties.

While Trump’s people may have been under the impression that this new approach would serve as a way to resolve the situation, it has actually made it worse. Because Trump and his team have constantly flip-flopped in the ways in which they respond to reports, it is evident that an immoral encounter between our president and Stormy Daniels did indeed occur.

Furthermore, by mentioning that the NDA did exist, it becomes apparent that Trump tried to cover up the issue. The argument that Cohen constructed and funded the agreement without Trump’s knowledge or money is ludicrous. Trump by nature, is a micromanager. It is highly unlikely that he never paid his attorney back such a large sum of money. If Cohen is being genuine and signed the NDA without the president’s approval and signature, the document would be invalid and Daniels would have no reason to want to abolish it. The stories simply do not add up.

If the president was aware of this NDA and funded it, Trump would have committed a crime. In the words of Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center, if an NDA such as this one has been signed on Trump’s behalf, it would be “a coordinated, illegal, in-kind contribution by Cohen for the purpose of influencing an election.” Being that Trump may have covered up such an embarrassing and decadent scandal, it is without a doubt that Americans should hold our president accountable. Furthermore, the actions taken by Trump and his legal team may have been borderline illegal. We should recognize this potential and speak up against the president.

The ways in which the president and his lawyers have tried to cover up this scandal is alarming. It is, however, also important to recognize the stipulations involved if Trump and Daniels did indeed fornicate. If the accusations are true, Trump is a hypocrite who has consistently demonstrated a lack of moral character. During his election campaign, Trump condemned the husband of his opponent Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, for having been involved in extramarital affairs. If the president did indeed sleep with Stormy Daniels in 2006, he would be going against his own publicly stated moral code.

The president should be held accountable for his treatment of women. A president serves as a role model for Americans. An individual who degrades women and cheats on his pregnant wife has no business being in the Oval Office.

If the above allegations are true, Trump’s reputation would be absolutely tarnished. For this reason, it is vital that we take these accusations against our president seriously. Our country must thoroughly investigate and take the allegations into consideration.

Objectively, most would agree that an individual who partakes in questionable cover-ups, pretends to respect women and has allegedly cheated on their wife is a corrupt person.

If Trump did indeed engage in sinful activities with Stormy Daniels and worked to hide it, America should hold him accountable. For this reason, citizens of the United States must recognize the importance of the accusations at hand.