Jennifer Willoughby, one of two ex-wives of former White House aide Rob Porter to accuse him of domestic abuse, has lashed out at President Donald Trump after he appeared to suggest that some of the allegations made against Porter were false.
In a column for TIME, Willoughby said she wasn’t surprised to hear Trump praise Porter for his work ethic, but that she was “floored” by the president twice repeating that Porter maintained he was innocent.
“My friend turned to me and said, ‘The president of the United States just called you a liar.’ Yes. And so he did,” she wrote.
Willoughby also took Trump to task for a tweet in which he suggested that Porter’s life and career were being “shattered and destroyed” over unproven allegations.
“There it is again. The words ‘mere allegation’ and ‘falsely accused’ meant to imply that I am a liar. That Colbie Holderness is a liar,” Willoughby wrote, referring to Porter’s other ex-wife.
“That the work Rob was doing in the White House was of higher value than our mental, emotional or physical wellbeing. That his professional contributions are worth more than the truth. That abuse is something to be questioned and doubted.”
WATCH: White House scrambles to quell latest controversy
Willoughby, who was married to Porter from 2009 to 2013 after his divorce from Holderness, also opined that Trump’s response was symptomatic of a wider problem of denial tainting society’s response to stories of abuse.
“Society as a whole has a fear of addressing our worst secrets. (Just ask any African-American citizen),” she wrote. “It’s as if we have a societal blind spot that creates an obstacle to understanding. Society as a whole doesn’t acknowledge the reality of abuse.”
READ MORE: White House response to sex abuse claims highlights challenge faced by victims
Willoughby’s column came as the White House went on the defensive over its handling of the controversy, with senior counsellor Kellyanne Conway, budget director Mark Mulvaney and legislative director Marc Short all making appearances on morning talk shows to explain the Trump administration’s response.
Porter resigned last week after Willoughby and Holderness both revealed that they had been physically abused by him.
— With a file from The Associated Press
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