From Stormy Daniels’ point of view, she felt she had to take the money Donald Trump offered to keep quiet about their affair, or else she feared for her life.
Her troubles with Trump began in 2006 when he slept with her after suggesting she could be on a TV show he hosted. Trump then sent his lawyer, Michael Cohen, to give her $130,000 to keep quiet before he ran for president in 2016.
In a new documentary about her legal fight with Trump, Daniels explains she knew she was in danger once Trump got into politics. She believed the Republican Party wanted to silence her to avoid problems.
She said, “People have been suspiciously killed for political reasons.” Her main concerns were protecting her family and herself. She thought if she took the money, there would be proof linking her to Trump, which might keep her safe.
But it wasn’t just fear. Before she tried to speak out against the nondisclosure agreement Trump forced her into, she faced harassment that endangered her and her child. In 2011, she says a man threatened her and her daughter, warning her to forget about Trump.
In the documentary, she reveals she made a video will in case she was killed. She wanted the filmmaker to give it to a news station and share the money with her child.
Daniels will play a big part in Trump’s trial over hush money in New York. He’s accused of hiding payments, which might have influenced the 2016 election. Trump tried to keep Daniels and Cohen away, calling them liars, but a judge ruled against him. The trial is set to start in mid-April.