Trump's casting couch

First of all, let's note that Donald Trump says he did not have sex with Stormy Daniels.

Trump lies to us. 

Trump is a Hugh Hefner-style libertine. It is part of his brand, the rule-breaking, winner-take-all man of action. Better to be a predator than prey.  He represents a version of American greatness. We're number one. The winner. Trump is a walking, talking metaphor. He will do to NATO or Mexico or anyone else who gets in America's way what he did to Stormy Daniels. He will take what he wants. 

The strong do as they will; the weak suffer as they must. 

Today's guest post looks at the encounter between Trump and Stormy Daniels, with empathy for Daniels. 

Rick Millward is a songwriter, musician, and music producer. He worked in Silicon Valley and then moved to Nashville for a decade, and then moved to Southern Oregon. His most recent production is Loveland, a collection of songs on themes of romantic love. He performs frequently at local wine venues.

Guest Post by Rick Millward

Millward

When You’re A Star 

Consider this: When they met in 2006 Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump were in the same industry; TV and Film. Trump had a network reality TV show; Stormy acted in adult films. In that sense they were peers. Both were successful, but Trump was much, much more so, and when they crossed paths it was an encounter that wouldn’t have happened in the normal course of events. To put it mildly, they didn’t run in the same circles. There was also a generational divide. 

Trump is a Boomer, and a pretty square one, more Hugh Hefner than Mick Jagger. Stormy is Gen X, 33 years younger, 27 when he was 60. Trump might have appeared as someone she would look up to, even fatherly. Certainly as an aspiring actress and director, his wealth and celebrity he would have been admirable to her. When he showed an interest in her, she might have been put off guard, believing it was due to him taking notice of her talent and ambition. So when she was invited to his room, Stormy might have felt she was on the cusp of a great opportunity. At the very least, she would have a rich and famous acquaintance, but maybe something more, something life changing. Even so, in the trial testimony she said she didn’t initially want to go, but her publicist encouraged her:

“He said I think you should go. It will make for a great story. He is a business guy. Like, what could possibly go wrong?”

Stormy wanted to move away from adult films. However, getting into the mainstream was challenging if not impossible. Few had ever made the transition. One way might be through someone like Donald Trump. I can imagine the hope she might have felt at this possibility by the time she got to the hotel. They talked:

"And it was at that point he got really quiet, and he was thinking, and he told me he had an idea, that I should go on his television show. 

Q: Was it The Apprentice?

I don't remember the TV show. The Apprentice, I assume it's Celebrity Apprentice. And I said there is no way that they would ever let. . . there is no way NBC would ever let an adult actress on television. And I said, even you don't have that much power. 

And he said that he did."

I can also imagine how she felt when she left. It’s in her testimony, which everyone should read.

Her testimony tells what happened, in such detail that the judge had to admonish her not to expand on her answers. From her story it was clear the encounter went from a business interview to something else, and that the questions and conversation was just a cover for the real intent of the meeting, and at some point it dawned on her, probably with a sinking revelation and perhaps some disbelief; oh, it’s that. . . And yet, she wasn’t completely crushed. There was a promise; “call my office.”.But as time went on, for some months after, it became obvious that nothing was going to happen. 

He didn’t have the power, after all.

The pervasive depiction of “Stormy Daniels,” Stephanie Clifford, is a caricature. Some of this is her doing, but a lot of it is how the media portrays her, and it’s largely one-dimensional. Aside from how she makes her living, we all would find her treatment despicable.

Stephanie is an artist and performer. Rejection and disappointment are part of the game. It’s a roller coaster of emotions that all artists ride, and success demands being able to handle the ups and downs, and hang on through it all.

Despite this, “When you’re a star, they let you do anything” would have been infuriating, humiliating.

As I was writing this, Stormy did an interview with Rachel Maddow that adds even more detail. In it she refutes the “she knew what she was getting into” narrative, among other things, which reinforces both the understanding of why other women have been reticent to come forward as well as her courage.

Anyway, Stormy certainly doesn’t need me to defend her, but I don’t think this aspect of the story has gotten the attention it deserves. It’s been all “sex, tabloids, payoffs, records,” and not as much about the casual cruelty she suffered at the hands the Republican nominee/felon. I’m left wondering how many Stephanies are out there watching this unfold, looking at their NDAs and remembering.

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