Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Melania Trump mocks ‘porn hooker’ Stormy Daniels for Vogue shoot in newly released tapes

Adult film performer Ms Daniels claims to have had affair with president, which he denies

Matt Mathers
Tuesday 06 October 2020 14:57 BST
Comments
Melania Trump calls Stormy Daniels a 'porn hooker' in new tapes

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

First lady Melania Trump can be heard calling Stormy Daniels a "porn hooker" in a secretly recorded tape.

The tape was recorded by Ms Trump's former aide and confidant, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, and played on an episode of Michael Cohen's Mea Culpa podcast on Monday.

During the conversation between the two women Ms Trump, 50, can be heard telling Ms Wolkoff, 50, about a photoshoot Ms Daniels  did with Annie Leibovitz for Vogue magazine.

"If you Google, go Google and read it, Annie Leibovitz shot the porn hooker, as she will be in one of the issues, September or October," Ms Trump can be heard saying.

Ms Wolkoff, who left the White House under a cloud in 2018, then asks the first lady what she means by "porn hooker", to which she replies: "Stormy".

“Shut the f*** up," Wolkoff responds on the tape. “For what?”

"Oh you didn't read it," the first lady continued. "It was yesterday when it came out. For Vogue. She will be in Vogue. Annie Leibowitz shot her."

Stormy Daniels, an adult film performer, claims to have had an affair with the president, 74, while he was married to Ms Trump.

The president continues to deny the claims, though his campaign team – through Mr Cohen – made a "hush money" payment to Ms Daniels, 41, during the 2016 race for the White House.

The Independent has contacted Ms Daniels for comment.

Ms Wolkoff recently published a tell-all book – ‘Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady’ – about her relationship with the first lady, with whom she had a falling out before leaving the White House in 2018.

She shared a second recording with Mr Cohen, Mr Trump's former lawyer and fixer, in which she can be heard claiming the president is the "most popular Republican president ever".

"He goes there and you see those people," she told Ms Wolkoff. "He has such a base. He, you know, when he travels. Of course – he's the most popular Republican president ever."

It is the second embarrassing leak for the first lady in just days. Last week, Ms Wolkoff released a separate recording in which the first lady swore while downplaying a row over her husband's policy of separating children from the parents at the US border.

"Secretly taping the first lady and willfully breaking an NDA to publish a salacious book is a clear attempt at relevance," Ms Trump's chief of staff Stephanie Grisham told CNN in a statement.

"The timing of this continues to be suspect – as does this never-ending exercise in self-pity and narcissism."

Ms Wolkoff, who previously worked as a director of special events for Vogue magazine, reportedly met Ms Trump on the New York social scene. She had a short stint as an unpaid special government employee, and helped with the president’s inauguration, which reportedly made millions for a company she owned.

Ms Wolkoff was last year subpoenaed over her role in the inauguration amid claims of excessive spending.

‘Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady’ was released earlier this year.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in