Trump breaks silence on domestic abuse, Kelly out of sight

FILE: President Donald Trump (Photo by Michael Vadon/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has at last broken his silence to explicitly denounce domestic violence in the wake of allegations that a top White House aide had abused two former wives.

While this was greeted with relief by some White House aides, there is still a sense of unease about the fate of chief of staff John Kelly, who is under fire for mishandling the departure of aide Rob Porter last week.

In Trump’s first comments after Porter resigned, he praised his former aide. Next, he appeared to cast doubt on the ex-wives’ allegations.

Finally, on Wednesday, Trump said the words that Democrats and Republicans alike had been listening for, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he is “totally opposed to domestic violence and everybody here knows that.”