'This is what happens when you elect a moron to the presidency': Michael Avenatti claps back at Trump's 'Horseface' tweet toward Stormy Daniels
- Attorney Michael Avenatti fired a warning shot in response to President Donald Trump's tweets in which he called Avenatti's client, adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, "Horseface."
- "I'm a father to two daughters ... how do you tell your kids to look up to the president of the United States when he behaves in this manner?," Avenatti said. "It's an absolute joke."
- Avenatti, who has hinted at a 2020 presidential run, also took a jab at what he believed to be "wishy-washy" tactics some Democratic lawmakers have used to counter Trump.
- "There's only one way to deal with a bully ... and that is when they punch you, you hit them back twice as hard," Avenatti said. "He better pack a lunch."
Attorney Michael Avenatti fired a warning shot at President Donald Trump in response to his "Horseface" insult toward adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.
"This is a disgrace," Avenatti said during a CNN interview on Tuesday evening. "Donald Trump is the president of the United States. Never in my lifetime did I think that I would witness behavior like this from the president."
"I'm a father to two daughters ... how do you tell your kids to look up to the president of the United States when he behaves in this manner," Avenatti added. "It's an absolute joke."
Asked how Daniels reacted to Trump's insult, Avenatti said she was "incredulous."
"She couldn't believe it," Avenatti said. "She thought that his account had been hacked or that it was some joke."
"The rest of the world looks at us, they laugh at us," Avenatti added. "I don't care what your politics are. This has no place, this is a complete disrespect to the office of the presidency."
Avenatti, who has hinted that he might run as a Democrat in the 2020 presidential election, also took a jab at what he called "wishy-washy" tactics he believes some Democratic lawmakers have used to counter Trump.
"There's only one way to deal with a bully ... and that is when they punch you, you hit them back twice as hard," Avenatti said. "He better pack a lunch."
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump took a victory lap after a federal judge dismissed Avenatti and Daniels' defamation lawsuit against him on First Amendment grounds. In addition to dismissing the lawsuit, US District Judge James Otero ordered Daniels to pay Trump's legal fees.
"Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer in the Great State of Texas," Trump tweeted, referring to Daniels and Avenatti. "She will confirm the letter she signed! She knows nothing about me, a total con!"
Trump appeared to be referring to a letter Daniels signed in January, in which she denied having an affair with Trump in 2006. Next week, Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign rally to support Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Daniels' home state.
Daniels immediately fired back at Trump using some sexual innuendo:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present your president," Daniels said in a tweet. "In addition to his...umm...shortcomings, he has demonstrated his incompetence, hatred of women and lack of self control on Twitter AGAIN! And perhaps a penchant for bestiality. Game on, Tiny."
Despite the ruling, Avenatti said in a statement that he would appeal the judges decision and that Daniels' lawsuits against Trump and Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney, would "proceed unaffected." Avenatti also claimed that the dismissed defamation lawsuit was only "secondary" to his original claim regarding the nondisclosure agreement between Cohen and Daniels.
"The defamation case was a secondary case to the main case, which is the case over the nondisclosure agreement," Avenatti said. "I don't think Donald Trump is smart enough to understand that."
"I mean, this is what happens when you elect a moron to the presidency of the United States, somebody that doesn't even understand basic law."