How long does it take to become respectable again after you’re forced out of your job after a history of domestic violence comes to light? If you’re a square-jawed white Republican, and the measure of respectability is an op-ed in a major newspaper, the answer is apparently about 13 months. That’s the mark set by former White House staff secretary Rob Porter and the Wall Street Journal on Thursday night.
Porter’s op-ed is about Donald Trump’s trade agenda, but the substance of what he wrote is much less noteworthy than the fact that he had the opportunity at all. This is a man whose two ex-wives came forward to describe his abuse. His security clearance was held up as a result—and White House security clearance issues are still playing out, more than a year later—and then-chief of staff John Kelly’s reputation took a major hit due to his botched handling of the issue.
Rob Porter is a violent man who epitomizes more than one White House scandal, but he’s also an Ivy League-educated Rhodes Scholar Republican, so 13 months is all it took for the uber-establishment Wall Street Journal to welcome his sage thoughts on trade. It’s a perfect symbol of the Republican way of the world.