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Culture War Roundup for the week of July 22, 2024

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I guess the claim that Trump is 100% faithful to Melania is technically untrue since everyone now knows about the Stormy Daniels story but isn't Melania his 3rd marriage?

As far as I can tell Trump has always denied that anything happened between him and Stormy Daniels.

Her story sounds like one of the Harvey Weinstein accusers: she's invited to his room, goes to use the bathroom, comes out to find Trump undressed, he blocks the door when she tries to leave. The Weinstein story broke in 2017, Stormy's story went public in 2018. Here's the NYT liveblogging the trial:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/07/nyregion/trump-trial-hush-money-stormy-daniels

Stormy Daniels says she came out of the bathroom and found that Trump was in the bedroom, waiting for her, in his boxer shorts and a T-shirt. She had been planning to go, she said. He was seated on the bed, between her and the exit. “What did I misread to get here,” she describes thinking. She says she tried to leave and he blocked her path, but not in a threatening manner.

Her prior recounting of the story in 2011 to In Touch Weekly doesn't contain such details:

https://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/stormy-daniels-full-interview-151788/

I had to use the bathroom and I went to the restroom, which was in the bedroom. Like I said, it was a big suite. I could describe the suite perfectly. When I came out, he was sitting on the bed and he was like, “Come here.” And I was like, “Ugh, here we go.” And we started kissing. I actually don’t even know why I did it but I do remember while we were having sex, I was like, “Please don’t try to pay me.” And then I remember thinking, “But I bet if he did, it would be a lot.”