Donald Trump’s alleged affair with and payment of hush money to an actor in pornographic films is not “a workplace issue” relevant to his fitness to be president, a moderate Republican senator said on Sunday.

Melania Trump aide blasts rumours as Kimmel show books Stormy Daniels Read more

Susan Collins of Maine was asked on CNN’s State of the Union about reports that Trump had an affair with Stephanie Clifford, who performs under the name Stormy Daniels, and that Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, allegedly orchestrated the payment of $130,000 to Clifford a month before the 2016 election.

“Well I don’t know the circumstances of it,” Collins said. “In some ways this sounds like an issue that’s between the president and Mrs Trump. It doesn’t seem to be a workplace issue as far as I know.”

Clifford said in a 2011 interview released this year that the alleged affair occurred in 2006, shortly after Trump’s third wife, Melania Trump, gave birth to her son Barron.

Cohen has “vehemently” denied the affair or making any payment as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Clifford has acquired a measure of mainstream celebrity. Interviewed by CBS on Thursday, she refused to answer questions on the subject. She has been booked to appear on Jimmy Kimmel’s show after Trump’s state of the union address on Tuesday.

On Friday, Melania Trump’s spokeswoman issued a statement that seemed to refer to a Daily Mail report that the first lady has spent several nights away from the White House since the alleged affair was reported, as well as the author Michael Wolff’s claim the president had an affair with UN ambassador Nikki Haley.

“BREAKING,” Stephanie Grisham wrote on Twitter. “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.”

Melania Trump did not travel with the president to Switzerland for this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos. The White House cited unspecified scheduling and logistical issues.

Speaking to Politico, Haley said the Wolff-fuelled rumours were “highly offensive”, “disgusting” and “absolutely not true”.

Amid a run of reports of sexual misconduct by powerful men – on Saturday Trump ally Steve Wynn stepped down as finance chair of the Republican National Committee – senior party figures and others on the right of US politics have largely sought to avoid commenting on Stormy Daniels.

One who did so, the head of the conservative Family Research Council, attracted widespread ridicule.

Tony Perkins told CNN “evangelicals, conservatives” had reacted to the alleged affair by giving Trump, a tabloid mainstay who has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women and who famously boasted about grabbing women “by the pussy”, a “mulligan” – a golf term for taking a shot again.

“They let him have a do-over,” Perkins said. “They said, ‘We’ll start afresh with you and we’ll give you a second chance.’”