While President Trump typically doesn’t hesitate to use social media to blast his opponents, Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti’s name has been noticeably missing from Trump’s Twitter feed.
However, it’s not that Trump doesn’t have an opinion on Avenatti, but rather could be, as the Daily Beast puts it, a strategy of “strategic non-engagement.”
Add that to the fact that Trump reportedly thinks Avenatti is a “loser” unworthy of his time.
The Daily Beast reports:
According to two sources close to the president, Trump has privately branded Avenatti a wannabe bigshot and a “loser.” A White House official noted that Trump has explained his decision to not go after Avenatti publicly because he deems him a “total loser” not worthy of Trump’s acknowledgement, whether on Twitter, in public statements, or in response to shouted questions from the White House press corps.
While Trump himself may be silent on Avenatti for that reason, it’s unclear why more GOP groups aren’t picking up the slack when it comes to the Stormy Daniels lawyer.
“No one seems to understand why the RNC, America Rising and other GOP groups aren’t doing even basic political blocking and tackling with Avenatti,” said a GOP operative to The Daily Beast. “He’s essentially gotten a free pass from them.”
Notable exceptions including a recent Fox News report on Avenatti’s business dealings, and criticism from Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer called the entire Stormy Daniels situation a “sideshow,” citing the fact that it’s “being investigated in the Southern District of New York and not by Mueller.”
“I can see why the Trump White House wants to concentrate its fire where the fire matters most,” said Fleischer. “And that’s with Mueller.”
