Stormy Daniels on 60 Minutes: Trump knows 'I'm telling the truth'
In her much-anticipated 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday night, adult film actress Stormy Daniels told Anderson Cooper that in 2006, she had unprotected sex with President Trump after meeting him at a Lake Tahoe golf tournament, and he "knows I'm telling the truth."
Daniels, 39, said she wasn't physically attracted to Trump but the encounter was consensual and she's "not a victim." Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, told Cooper that Trump said she reminded him of his daughter and that he and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, had "separate rooms and stuff." She kept in contact with him because she viewed this as a "business deal," and he promised to try to get her on The Apprentice. Their final meeting was in July 2007, and Daniels said they had sex only the one time in Lake Tahoe. Through a spokesman, Trump denied having an affair with Daniels.
Daniels said in 2011, she agreed to discuss the alleged affair with a sister publication of In Touch magazine for $15,000, and not long after, she was accosted in a Las Vegas parking lot while with her infant daughter. An unidentified man "walked up on me and said to me, 'Leave Trump alone. Forget the story,'" she told Cooper, adding that he then looked at her daughter and said, "'That's a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom.' And then he was gone."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Two former employees of the magazine told 60 Minutes that the story never ran because when In Touch asked Trump for comment, Trump lawyer Michael Cohen threatened to sue; it was a few weeks later that Daniels was approached in the parking lot. Daniels said she never went to police about the incident because she was afraid and felt "rattled." For more on her initial meeting with Trump and the nondisclosure agreement she signed with Cohen, visit CBS News.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Senegal's Bassirou Diomaye Faye: from prison to Africa's youngest elected leader
Why everyone's talking about The 44-year-old has resonated with young people by promising to shake up the establishment and enact economic reforms
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How social media is limiting political content
The Explainer Critics say Meta's 'extraordinary move' to have less politics in users' feeds could be 'actively muzzling civic action'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Unthinkable tragedy'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Trump gets $289M break, first criminal trial date
Speed Read The former president's fraud bond has been reduced to $175 million from $464 million
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US-Israel rift widens after UN cease-fire resolution
Speed Read The U.S. declined to veto a U.N. resolution calling for a two-week "immediate cease-fire" in Gaza
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Jersey first lady exits race to replace Menendez
Speed Read Tammy Murphy dropping out paves the way for Rep. Andy Kim to become the state's next senator
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russia blames Ukraine for deadly ISIS Moscow attack
Speed Read Putin has ignored the Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the concert hall shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump-RNC pact puts Trump legal bills ahead of GOP
Speed Read The former president has struck a deal with the Republican National Committee to put donations toward his legal bills
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Vietnam president resigns amid scandal
Speed Read Vietnam loses its second president in two years as Vo Van Thuong steps down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas migrant law in limbo after Supreme Court OK
Speed Read The law has been blocked again, mere hours after the Supreme Court allowed the state to arrest migrants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cubans rally for 'power and food' in rare protests
Speed Read The protests came after 18-hour rolling blackouts and food supply shortages
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published