Jimmy Kimmel announces he'll interview 'very gifted' Stormy Daniels Tuesday

Maria Puente | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Report claims Trump’s lawyer paid $130K to adult-film star A new report from the WSJ alleges a lawyer representing President Trump arranged a $130,000 payment to a former adult film star one month before the 2016 presidential election to prevent her from discussing an alleged sexual encounter between her and Trump in 2006.

Well, this can't be cheerful news for President Trump and first lady Melania Trump: Stormy Daniels, the ex-porn star with whom he allegedly had an affair in 2006 and then reportedly paid off before the 2016 election, is set to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live! following Tuesday's State of the Union address.

Kimmel tweeted out the news late Thursday, describing Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, as "very gifted." He didn't say how or why and his spokeswoman did not respond to a query about it from USA TODAY.

But the ABC host added in all caps: "I have MANY QUESTIONS!"

I am pleased to announce that the very gifted @StormyDaniels will be on #Kimmel Tuesday 1/30 after the #StateOfTheUnion. I have MANY QUESTIONS! #MAGA — Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) January 26, 2018

Yes, indeed, there are many questions, but will she answer them? Her pattern so far suggests not. She was interviewed on Inside Edition Thursday and merely smiled when asked directly if she had a sexual relationship with Donald Trump, as she once claimed.

The White House has denied this but mostly declined to engage on the Stormy story. "This allegation was asked and answered during the campaign," White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah told reporters aboard Air Force One last week.

Late Friday, Melania Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham attacked the media for "salacious & flat-out false reporting."

"BREAKING: The laundry list of salacious & flat-out false reporting about Mrs. Trump by tabloid publications & TV shows has seeped into "main stream media" reporting," she tweeted. "She is focused on her family & role as FLOTUS - not the unrealistic scenarios being peddled daily by the fake news."

BREAKING:The laundry list of salacious & flat-out false reporting about Mrs. Trump by tabloid publications & TV shows has seeped into "main stream media" reporting. She is focused on her family & role as FLOTUS - not the unrealistic scenarios being peddled daily by the fake news. — Stephanie Grisham (@StephGrisham45) January 26, 2018

But that shouldn't stop Kimmel, who (like all the other late-night hosts) delights in mocking President Trump at every opportunity — most recently Thursday night when he skewered POTUS with jokes after reports emerged that he tried to sack special counsel Robert Mueller last summer.

Kimmel spokeswoman Alyssa Schimel said this will be Daniels' first appearance on a late-night show since The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 12 that Daniels was paid $130,000 through Trump's lawyer to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump.

Then last week, the gossip magazine In Touch published a 7-year-old interview with Daniels in which she went into salacious details about the alleged affair; she claimed it happened around the time Melania Trump gave birth to their son, Barron, 11.

Daniels, 38, now says the affair never happened but she wasn't saying that when the interview was conducted in 2011. She's apparently under a nondisclosure agreement — a legal gag order — judging from her coy turn on IE.

When IE's Jim Moret asked her if she had a sexual relationship with Trump, she smiled and said nothing. "Have you been paid to be quiet? Have you signed a non-disclosure agreement?" Again, nothing.

Meanwhile, CBS's Stephen Colbert had his own explanation for why Melania Trump canceled her plans to accompany President Trump to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, at the last minute. Mrs. Trump announced Monday she wasn't going after all due to "scheduling and logistics issues."

“Yes, there were logistical issues,” Colbert joked Wednesday on Late Night with Stephen Colbert. “For instance, the weather. She was afraid it was going to be too Stormy.”