Rob Porter is a name that has been unable to leave national headlines the past few days. For those who are unfamiliar, Porter was the White House staff secretary and assistant to the president for the Trump administration starting Jan. 20, 2017. He was responsible for drafting President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address and all paper flow to the president.
It has recently been brought to light that Porter allegedly abused his two ex-spouses. Pictures of the abuse circulated the internet and caused an uproar from both sides of the aisle.
The White House defended him the first couple of days after the story broke, saying that he would not be terminated. However, he later was asked to resign.
The controversy continued to be front-page news as people began to question how Porter could have possibly been allowed to work in the White House due to those accusations.
For days, the White House claimed to not know about the alleged abuse cases. Christopher Wray, the FBI director, however, contradicted the White House’s statement Tuesday in a testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee where he stated that the FBI gave the White House a detailed background check on Porter in late July. That resulted in Porter’s security clearance being denied in September.
The fact that a White House official was allowed to continue working amid allegations of physical abuse and without any security clearance should be very concerning to all Americans. On top of that, the fact that the White House essentially concealed an employee’s allegations of domestic abuse is disturbing at best.
The White House has continually let down its citizens by putting people in power who are unfit to lead our country. We have seen this time and time again; Steve Bannon who has white supremacist beliefs, Betsy DeVos who has no background in public education, Sean Spicer who continuously misled the public during press debriefings and now, Rob Porter, a man who allegedly abused his two ex-wives.
Let us not forget that Trump has been accused by 19 women of sexual assault along with the infamous "p---y tape" which was leaked during the campaign. We have already seen the well-deserved crucifixion of predators, whether it be in Hollywood or within the realm of politics. But why are we ignoring the man on top? Has he reached such an untouchable status that his accusers voices don’t matter?
While potentially unpopular, it is hard to not draw the conclusion that Trump should not hold office based on the accusations against him. The White House knew Porter was a potentially dangerous man, someone who was capable of giving his wife a black eye, months before it hit the news.
If the story hadn’t broke — if Porter’s ex-wife hadn’t come forward — this man would still be a White House Staff Secretary working beside a man whose actions don’t discourage such behavior.
If we are holding Hollywood moguls and other household names to this standard, why aren’t we holding the president of the United States to the same?
Kailee Missler is a freshman studying strategic communications at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. What do you think? Let Kailee know by tweeting her @kaileerenee99.
