‘Painful and Salacious’: Republican Senator Says Sordid Details of Trump Trial Remind Him of Clinton Sex Scandal

Timothy A. Clary/Pool via AP

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) told The Hill’s Alexander Bolton on Monday that the trial of former President Donald Trump has been “painful and salacious” as sordid details of Trump’s affair with a porn star are making national news again.

Bolton spoke to several Republican senators about the trial and reported that Lankford “said it reminded him of the sex scandal that engulfed then-President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s.”

“It reminds me of the Clinton administration and all the conversations that were happening around that time period with Ken Starr and all the things that came out,” Lankford said, adding:

I hate for it being on TV, because there’s a younger generation watching TV and it becomes an issue. We saw that decades ago. We’re going to see that again. Just on a cultural values basis, it matters to our culture.

Lankford, who ran the student ministry at the Baptist Convention of Oklahoma for some 15 years before running for Congress, is one of the more socially conservative members of the U.S. Senate and told The Hill he is unsure how the Trump trial and alleged affairs will impact his standing with values voters.

Another GOP senator spoke to Bolton anonymously and predicted Trump would not lose votes over the sexually charged trial. “I’m willing to bet if you did a poll, if you did a focus group of say evangelicals, certain Catholics, I bet a lot of them would be like, ‘Ehh, I don’t believe that stuff.’ But if you ask them, are you comfortable with some of his behavior? They’d say no,” said the anonymous senator.

“I think that’s all baked in,” added Senate Republican Whip John Thune (SD) when asked if details about Trump cheating on his wife with a porn star would impact voters.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) was less sure, telling Bolton, “I think it was made more real by the testimony.” Trump’s trial has included many personal details being divulged under oath, including that Trump did not wear a condom while cheating on his wife soon after she gave birth.

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