Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against President Trump, agreed Sunday that future presidents will likely have the same star power as the current occupant of the White House.
“The fact of the matter is, and people may not like this, and we could have a debate as to whether it’s good for America or not, but we live in a different media age, a different realm if you will,” Avenatti said during an interview with CNN’s “Reliable Sources” after host Brian Stelter made the prediction.
“And whoever is going to aspire to the presidency is going to need to understand what that realm entails and how to navigate it,” Avenatti continued, before offering rare praise of Trump for his media savvy.
Avenatti, who is openly exploring a possible 2020 bid for the White House as a Democrat, has become a cable news mainstay since porn star Stormy Daniels took Trump to court in March over a nondisclosure agreement to remain quiet about an alleged sexual encounter between the pair more than a decade ago. The $130,000 deal, brokered by Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, was arranged days before the 2016 presidential election. The NDA, however, is now no longer being enforced.
While Avenatti touted his own abilities to talk to reporters, he pushed back on claims he had adopted “Trumpian” approaches to dealing with unfavorable coverage from news outlets, including suing media organizations and blocking critics on Twitter.
“I don’t think all journalists are created equal,” he said. “When people engage in tactics that do not meet basic journalistic standards and make things up, from time to time, I’m going to call them out on it.”
