Brad Parscale, President Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, denied a report Wednesday that claimed he had hired Rob Porter, a former White House aide who resigned earlier this year amid a scandal over allegations that he abused his two ex-wives.
“No, Rob Porter has not been hired in any capacity. I have never even thought about it,” Parscale said in a tweet posted shortly after the report of Porter’s hiring began to circulate on social media.
The president’s re-election campaign manager, who directed digital operations during Trump’s first campaign in 2016, described the Daily Mail report as a “hit piece.”
“I actually do not believe I have ever even met Rob Porter. Impossible to prove a negative, what a joke,” Parscale tweeted. “What’s next, I am opening my office on the moon? Can’t wait to see.”
The report in question alleged Parscale had added Porter to the campaign’s payroll days after his resignation in February because Trump felt guilty about the media firestorm that pushed him out of the administration.
Porter’s two ex-wives came forward with allegations of past abuse shortly after the former staff secretary’s relationship with former White House communications director Hope Hicks came to light. FBI officials recommended against providing Porter a security clearance, but chief of staff John Kelly had allowed Porter to operate on a temporary clearance despite knowing the allegations against Porter, causing a major controversy for the White House.
