Viewers Looking Closely at Stormy Noticed Something Very Wrong During Interview
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Stormy Daniels’ interview on “60 Minutes” Sunday night was the big political story of the weekend. The former adult film actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she engaged in a one-time sexual encounter with Donald Trump in 2006 and said she was pressured into signing a statement denying the affair because she felt intimidated.
She also dropped a bombshell by alleging that she was approached by a man who seemed to threaten her shortly after she sold her story to a magazine.
“I was in a parking lot going to a fitness class with my infant daughter and a guy walked up on me and said to me, ‘Leave Trump alone. Forget the story,’” Daniels told “60 Minutes” reporter Anderson Cooper. “And he leaned round and looked at my daughter and said, ‘That’s a beautiful little girl. It would be a shame if something happened to her mom.’”
While that was the big story in the media, one thing went mostly unreported — although quite a few people noticed it. Namely, Stormy Daniels’ pupils were huge.
#stormydaniels lack of embellishments made her story seem credible to me. However, I highly doubt her motive for the interview was to clear her name..as a porn star..your name is already kinda💩 hence the name change. Also what was with her extremely dilated pupils? pic.twitter.com/777ZA5tPAK
— Lidia Curanaj (@LidiaNews) March 26, 2018
Health reporter tweet here. Why are Stormy Daniels' pupils so dilated in that bright room? AC's aren't. Ok carry on. #60minutes
— Blythe Bernhard (@blythebernhard) March 26, 2018
Those are some saucer-sized pupils. Now, for those of you who skipped science class or were subjected to Common Core, pupils tend to constrict when exposed to light — particularly the bright lights television production crews tend to use. Conservative activist Mark Dice noted that Daniels’ pupils seemed to be inordinately large compared to those of her lawyer.
https://twitter.com/MarkDice/status/978108159322603520
There are several reasons why one’s pupils might dilate, as Gizmodo notes. Low light situations or performing complex tasks are two of them. However, they note that “it’s also known that certain medications — including illicit drugs — can cause pupils to get larger.”
Many of these medications are innocuous, according to WebMD. Decongestants, antihistamines, anti-seizure drugs and others can cause such a reaction.
However, other drugs that would cause said reaction are illegal or recreational ones. Cocaine, amphetamines, LSD and ecstasy would all be common drugs of abuse that would result in dilated pupils.
While LSD seems an unlikely culprit here, cocaine or amphetamines would cast some doubt on her claims, particularly given that paranoia is one of the side effects of both drugs. Abuse of substances can also affect one’s memory and perception of events, presumably.
This, of course, is extrapolating quite a bit. I’m not Clifford’s (or anyone’s) doctor, after all.
However, I know enough to know erratic behavior when I see it. Consider that, in January, Clifford signed a statement saying that she had no sexual relations with Trump before her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show.
“I recently became aware that certain news outlets are alleging that I had a sexual and/or romantic affair with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago,” her statement at that time read.
“I am stating with complete clarity that this is absolutely false. My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more. When I met Donald Trump, he was gracious, professional and a complete gentleman to me and EVERYONE in my presence.”
Beyond saying that she felt intimidated into giving that statement, Daniels provided no actual reason why she would have signed it and directed all questions about the non-disclosure agreement she signed to her lawyer.
And, after all, the only real part of the story this Sunday were the tales of intimidation. The president has denied the affair — but, to quote one frequently cheated-upon wife, what difference, at this point, does it make? Voters elected Trump knowing his past marital indiscretions — and, given that this happened 12 years ago, it’s very much in the past.
The only part the voting polity likely cares about is whether or not the president engaged in a campaign of intimidation and threats against Daniels/Clifford. In this context, the state of her pupils (and what caused that state) is very much a salient issue. Unsubstantiated allegations all reduce to a matter of trust, after all, and there are real reasons not to trust Stormy Daniels.
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