Trump takes night off from porn star scandal to dine with a stalker

The scandal surrounding Trump’s alleged affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels continues to heat up. So Trump sought refuge this week by inviting Jesse Watters, a Fox News host with a history of racism and stalking, to dinner.

Watters also once made a sexual “joke” about Ivanka Trump, after which he took a sudden “vacation” from his show.

Former Trump aide and current Nazi sympathizer Sebastian Gorka also attended the White House dinner.

A White House official told the Daily Beast the men were invited because Trump “couldn’t get enough of them on TV.” Trump also reportedly said that he “missed” Gorka’s presence.

Watters tweeted a photo of the menu, signed by Trump with a note reading “To Jesse You Are Great.”

Watters is currently one of the co-hosts of The Five. But before that he was a correspondent for Bill O’Reilly’s program. And it was during his time on that show that he stalked a female reporter.

After HuffPost’s Amanda Terkel criticized O’Reilly, Watters tracked her down while she was on vacation and ambushed her on video.

Recounting the incident, Terkel noted, “Fox News has never given an explanation for how Watters found me. I didn’t tell anyone exactly where I would be that weekend. And in retrospect, I remember a car following me for much of the way.”

“My best guess remains that Watters found my home address, followed me for two hours to Virginia and then harassed me after I walked out of my hotel,” she added.

Fox later fired O’Reilly following reports of serial sexual harassment that resulted in millions of dollars in settlements.

Watters also did a segment on The O’Reilly Factor of highly edited interviews mocking Asian-Americans in New York’s Chinatown. The segment resulted in a protest at Fox News headquarters, and Mayor Bill de Blasio called the report “vile.”

And New York City councilman Peter Koo slammed Fox and Watters: “Passing off this blatantly racist television segment as ‘gentle fun’ not only validates racist stereotypes, it encourages them.”

Trump is obsessed with Fox News, which serves as part of the propaganda machine propping up his presidency. He often tweets praise of Fox’s pro-Trump content, while attacking rival news networks.

And of course, Trump is notoriously racist and has a history of sexual assault and misogyny. And in hosting figures like Watters and Gorka, he is surrounding himself with likeminded people.