Revealing the reason why Mr. Trump remained silent about the accusation of adultery with a porn star

Porn star Stormy Daniels went public with her 2006 affair with Trump, when he was married to Melania. Daniels said she tried to sell the story to the media twice but was threatened by a man in 2011 and paid $130,000 by Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen under a non-disclosure agreement before the 2016 US presidential election.

The White House said the porn star's allegations against Trump were "unreliable and baseless." Trump, who has a blunt style and has often responded directly to controversial issues, has remained silent this time.

Lanny Davis, a former White House adviser who helped President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, said Trump was showing concessions. "To me, the fact that he didn't comment was an admission that he had an affair," Davis said. "He stayed silent, didn't attack her, criticize her, or deny her claims."

Sources close to Trump said that last weekend, at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump talked to friends about the scandal. Trump's friends and advisers warned that he would not gain from a verbal spat with Daniels, according toWashington Post.

"He has no interest in fighting back. Everyone tells Trump he can't win, so don't do anything," said an unnamed friend of Trump.

Trump has calculated that the allegations against Daniels and the other women will have little impact on his political support. A Republican who has been in regular contact with the White House said the president believes the scandal will quickly fade, in part because Trump has spent decades trying to portray himself as a millionaire Manhattan playboy.

"As a businessman, Trump often said that being in the media spotlight was a good thing, even for negative reasons," said Louise Sunshine, a longtime employee of the Trump Organization.

Trump also believes that his loyal supporters will not abandon him, just as they did after Trump was accused of bragging about sexually assaulting women in a recording released in October 2016, just weeks before the election.

“The president is right to believe that his loyal supporters will not abandon him over this issue,” said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign aide.

However, Trump's friends say the allegations not only from Daniels but also from former model Karen McDougal, who says she had a nearly year-long affair with Trump, have caused tension in his marriage.

First Lady Melania Trump did not return to Washington with Trump last weekend, but instead stayed at Mar-a-Lago, a White House aide said, which was part of her previously planned spring break.

Sunshine said that based on her years working with Trump, she thinks he is the one most bothered by the impact the scandal has had on his family. “It bothers him because it bothers Melania and his daughter,” Sunshine said.

Trump has repeatedly denied Daniels’s allegations since his presidential campaign. In 2016, Trump admitted to some of his closest political advisers that he had met Daniels but denied that he had an affair with her. Near the end of the campaign, Trump brought up Daniels in a conversation on his private plane. Trump asked what year Daniels said she and he had an affair. When she said 2006, he simply shrugged and moved on without further questioning.

The White House has largely followed Trump’s “ignore” approach. Republican allies say they have received little guidance from the White House on how to handle questions about Daniels or other women’s allegations. “The response strategy is almost non-existent,” one Republican official said.