CNN’s Matt Lewis on Friday took a contrarian view of the ongoing developments in Donald Trump’s extramarital affairs and subsequent efforts to silence the women who wish to speak about their interactions with the president, arguing it’s actually “very helpful” to him, “politically speaking.”
“The interesting thing is, ironically, I think this is actually politically helpful,” Daily Beast columnist Matt Lewis said, referring to former Playmate model Karen Mcdougal’s 10-month affair with the president, which she detailed Thursday on CNN. “Nobody is surprised. Nobody doubts her word and nobody is surprised that Donald Trump would behave that way. And on the surface, that’s an indictment of Donald Trump, that's a horrible thing.”
“But politically speaking, I think it is actually very helpful to Donald Trump,” Lewis continued. “He's never built his credibility on being a man of character or a man of virtue, he's always been somebody who assumed to be chasing the ladies and simultaneously skirting the rules, finding ways out of problems, paying people off. I mean, this is part of his brand.”
“So I think it is an indictment on the American public, maybe, that this is our president, but in terms of hurting Donald Trump politically, I think the fact is that this is baked into the cake. This is who he is—he is who we thought he was. “
Lewis later said that “as a journalist,” he’s “in favor of more transparency” and thinks “the American public deserves to know things like this.”
“But I’m just, I’m just questioning whether or not it matters how many [women come forward] right?” Lewis wondered. “Like, if you care about, let's say if you care about the ‘Me Too’ movement, you already hate Donald Trump. There is one more woman coming forward alleging something, I don't think matters.”
“Does it matter if it is three or four politically speaking?” Lewis wondered. “We already know that this is a person—that Donald Trump is a scurrilous cad. Does it matter if it is three playmates or porn stars or four? Once you reach this level, the numbers don't really matter as much.”
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