Does anyone get the irony here?

This is like one of those “a guy walks into a bar…” jokes. Really. Last night on one of America’s most venerable news magazine programs, “60 Minutes”, CNN’s Anderson Cooper interviewed Stephanie Clifford, a.k.a. “Stormy Daniels” for the purpose of getting the dirt on her affair with President Donald Trump. This affair reportedly took place in 2006.

Now, of course the purpose of this interview is patently transparent, and honestly, with all the attention being paid to ‘juicy details’ (of which there were actually rather few) and the media hype (of which there was a great deal), I choose to look at the purpose of this spectacle.

The intent is certainly not for a disaffected woman to have her say. Rather, this is the mainstream media’s attempt to render Donald Trump and his alignment with the Christian God irrelevant. It is the oldest trick in the book, to go after the supposedly upstanding man or woman’s sinful secret life and therefore prove that this person is a hypocrite and that he or she ought not be trusted…

…and neither should that nasty old God whom they claim to serve.

This is the tool of choice against pastors that become famous just as much as it is against Presidents.

I do not think it will succeed this time. Some of this may be misplaced hope, but here is why I do not think it will work.

1. President Trump was never understood as a paragon of virtue. He is a ladies’ man and has always been so. He has excellent taste in beauty and charm and has married three very elegant ladies. He is also honestly a man who has enjoyed his status and his freewheeling style has no doubt been full of romances, both in and out of marriage. While this is certainly not good for the marriage, and while it is selfish and sinful, it is also no secret with the Donald that he would be involved in things like this. This means there is no “outing” of anything, but only some details. Even if Stephanie’s story is 100 percent true, there is no exposé.
2. President Trump’s supporters are wise to the media attack strategy. They know that the personalities who are conducting this “exposé” are certainly not the authorities of good Christian living themselves.
3. The only likely collateral damage may be with Donald and Melania Trump’s marriage, but there is a good chance that this will not be the case either. As I stated before in another opinion piece, it is inconceivable that Melania, a model herself, is going to be in a state of revelatory shock over her husband’s behavior. She knew who she was marrying. And this is not a pejorative comment against either Melania or Donald Trump, actually. They were largely out of this sort of scrutiny in their private lives, and the only thing that has changed is the level of scrutiny itself. It is purely partisan and its purpose is only to destroy. I am sure both husband and wife know this, and that they suffer for it, but this is the game that goes on in Washington.

In my opinion (for what it is worth), the real struggle here is the constant media bashing. The Trumps are believers in God. This is certain, as the way that both of them express their respect for the Almighty shows that even if they make mistakes, they know He doesn’t, and they have appeared most grateful to stay close to Him. It is actually quite possible that this harrowing and filthy behavior on the part of the hypocritical media may be driving the Trumps closer to God and maybe they understand this as the price for not being so careful in the past.

This is not “Bill and Hillary confront Lewinsky, part II“. It is not even close. The dynamics of the Clintons were focused around power much more than that of the Trumps. For the Trumps, family is rough, it is difficult, but it is still family. One only has to see the way the Trump family hangs together (and even as it falls apart) to see that this is a very different, very vibrant, and frankly very honestly American scene here.

I realize that my opinions are very hopeful because I love the Trump family and I love what Mr Trump is trying to do for America. I think this man is honestly trying to do the right thing for the country, and he is catching hell all the way. This shaming-attempt interview will not be the last one. But there may not be too many more if the family hangs tough, and Mr. Trump continues to do what he does so well.

And I have little doubt that with this, and with all the people that are honestly and gratefully praying to God to help him, that he and Melania and Barron will get through this ordeal just fine. May God help them.