Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was “totally opposed” to domestic violence after days of questions following his remarks regretting the resignation of a White House aide accused of such behavior.

The president’s views have been under the spotlight following the resignation of Rob Porter, who stepped down after two of his ex-wives aired allegations of physical and emotional abuse. A photograph of one of his ex-wives, Colbie Holderness, emerged last week showing her with a badly bruised eye.

On Wednesday Trump said: “I am totally opposed to domestic violence of any kind everyone knows that and it almost wouldn’t even have to be said.”

On Saturday, the president sent a tweet that some read as a defense of Porter. “Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation,” Trump tweeted. “Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused – life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?”

The president also said Porter did “a very good job when he was in the White House. And we hope he has a wonderful career”.

At least 20 women have accused Trump personally of sexual misconduct. He has said they are lying.



Porter worked closely with White House chief of staff John Kelly to regulate Trump’s meeting schedule and decide which documents reached his desk.



Kelly’s position has been under scrutiny after he initially gave a strong backing to Porter. “He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional,” Kelly said last week before the resignation. “I am proud to serve alongside him.”

The White House had claimed ignorance of allegations of spousal abuse against Porter, until the photograph of Porter emerged.

However, on Tuesday, the FBI director, Chris Wray, disputed White House claims of ignorance over allegations of domestic abuse, saying an investigation on Porter was submitted to the White House in July 2017 and later supplied two follow-up reports.

Porter denied the allegations against him in his resignation statement, saying they were “outrageous” and “simply false”.