A sitting “family values” and “traditional marriage” Republican U.S. Senator is defending President Donald Trump‘s payments to a porn star and a playmate by insisting that the hush money comes out of the president’s love for his family.
“I honestly think this president loves his family, and I think it has as much to do w/trying not to have public discussions about something that for him is a private matter,” Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) told CNN Wednesday.
On his taxpayer-funded federal government website Senator Rounds has a section titled “Family Values.” It shows him in a photo with five children, and the caption: “Since my time working as governor and state senator, protecting and strengthening family values has been a priority of mine. I am pro-life and believe in the traditional definition of marriage.”
Reminded that the hush money payments were made “to influence the election,” Sen. Rounds replied he wouldn’t try to “litigate” what “legitimate campaign expenses” are.
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Despite his claims of being “pro-life” and pro-family, Senator Rounds in December came under fire for supporting legislation that would squeeze $25 billion out of programs like food stamps to build Trump’s wall.