It’s Valentine’s Day, and you know what that means – I’m going to talk about politics because Valentine’s Day is just another one of capitalism’s ways to make you feel bad about yourself. Also I’m alone.

“Wow, Lauren, another piece about politics? Don’t you have a life?”

The answer is no. Let’s get started.

Donald Trump has been awful recently. We all know that. And if you don’t, I’d like to ask you to reconsider.

Actually, it’s not even been “recently.” Let’s just cut that word out and start over.

Donald Trump has been awful, and you’re probably tired of hearing about him.

Let’s talk about some of his staff instead.

Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary, has resigned over allegations that he abused two of his ex-wives.

John Kelly, the chief of staff at the White House and professional babysitter to the president, allegedly knew of these accusations prior to Porter’s hiring, and didn’t disclose them despite top White House officials being aware as early as Trump’s inauguration.

Allegations like these would typically result in Porter being deemed disqualified for the position, as he wouldn’t have passed the FBI background check that all White House officials need to go through. In fact, the FBI did alert Donald McGahn, the White House counsel, that the accusations would, in fact, be incriminating.

According to reports from The New York Times, staff who knew Porter were shocked at the thought of him physically abusing his ex-wives. Porter, a Harvard grad and former lawyer, was believed by the nearly all male staff that encompasses the White House.

Here’s the thing – any man, of any political, socio-economic or ethnic background can physically abuse women. They are all capable of it and that’s what makes it such a scary and touchy subject. 

White House officials looked past what were some serious allegations, with the proof being in pictures that later were spread on social media of one of his exe’s bruised eye, and that’s a dangerous side to take.

The Trump administration has already been plagued by accusations of sexual misconduct regarding the president himself, so it should have been an easy assumption that they would defend Porter.

I mean, how much lower can you go after publicly supporting a guy who had relations with teenagers as a 30-year-old?

Trump is gullible, almost like a five-year-old who wants everyone to be his friend, so he just kind of takes everything they tell him to be true. He’ll defend anyone who is nice to him. I won’t say this will be his downfall, because we all know he’ll be saved by another, more ridiculous scandal before this is even published.

But he should be scared.

Trump’s staunch defense of Porter, and blatant disregard for women’s stories, has reminded everyone that Trump himself has been accused of sexual misconduct by quite a few women. It has additionally brought to light the issue that a number of his staff still lack the proper security clearance to handle classified documents, like Porter.

I’ll see you all next week when he does something somehow more reckless than this, for a new kind of outrage.