
Watch the MSNBC anchor destroy a ridiculous White House defense of Trump's treatment of women.

Trump's reaction to the Rob Porter domestic abuse scandal has been so despicable that his defenders are barely even fooling themselves anymore.

Trump administration officials threw everything they could think of into defending Trump's handling of the scandal during a series of disastrous Sunday show appearances. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway insisted that Trump has "come to the aid of women privately, whether he has secured employment for them or given them a hand up, read an article about them and had his team back at Trump Tower contact them and try to help them."

None of that addresses the widespread criticism of Trump's public full-throated defense of his former aide, refusing to even acknowledge the women he allegedly abused and expressing sadness for Porter but not for his victims.


On Monday, MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle exposed the absurdity of the White House's spin.

"Kellyanne Conway said, over the weekend that privately, the president has given aid and supported many women," the anchor said. "It doesn't matter what president has done privately, he's a public figure."

"Couldn't one argue that the $130-grand check cut to Stormy Daniels would be considered private support?" Ruhle continued. "It's what you put out to the world, what you're comfortable with."

Ruhle is referring to the $130,000 Trump's lawyer allegedly paid to porn star Stormy Daniels a month before the 2016 election to cover up an extramarital affair.

But Conway's defense is silly enough on its face, and Conway herself is a prime example. Trump has elevated few women in his administration, and those he has elevated function mainly to lie for him, and to animate this talking point.

Conway and truth-challenged press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders aside, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen recently faced humiliation for lying on Trump's behalf during a Senate hearing, but wasn't even allowed to speak when she was the only woman to attend Trump's dinner in Davos.

And when the Porter scandal started to really hurt Trump, he tried to blame the whole thing on his communications director, Hope Hicks, even though it was chief of staff John Kelly who promoted and protected Porter.

This latest scandal clearly has Trump and his team worried, and their pathetic attempts at spin are only making it worse.