ZingSync

Believe it or not, this time last year, much of the world did not yet know of the adult-film actress named Stormy Daniels who allegedly had an affair with Donald Trump and was paid to keep quiet about it before the 2016 election.

But now, after the story broke Jan. 12, 2018, Daniels is a household name who takes pleasure in trolling Trump on social media to her 895,000 followers.

So it was that hours before the president was to address the nation from the Oval Office about the national security “crisis” at the southern border, breaking into regular television programming for about eight minutes, Daniels offered an alternative viewing option.

If you're looking for anything even remotely worth watching tonight at 9pm EST, I will be folding laundry in my underwear for 8 minutes on Instagram live. https://t.co/GhMowscZMP

Trump has perfected the use of Twitter as a weapon, but Daniels plays him at his own game.

She’s a porn star and not ashamed of it. When it comes to Daniels, the insults commonly thrown at women on the Internet don’t stick. She’s heard them all before.

BTW calling me a "slut" is about as offensive as calling me "Stormy". It's basically in my job description. (eye roll)

After a federal judge threw out a defamation suit that Daniels filed against Trump, the president took to Twitter (of course) and called her “horseface” and said she knew nothing about him. It’s not clear whether that latter point was in reference to Daniels’s claims of knowing private details about him, but she took it that way.

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She responded to his tweet, and even bestowed on him a nickname — borrowing a page from his playbook.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present your president. In addition to his...umm...shortcomings, he has demonstrated his incompetence, hatred of women and lack of self control on Twitter AGAIN! And perhaps a penchant for bestiality. Game on, Tiny. https://t.co/6DpDD5ELtj

Daniels’s suggestion that people should watch her folding laundry in her underwear instead of watching Trump talk about immigration is meant to be provocative, but it does nod to a more serious debate over whether the networks should be carrying Trump’s remarks live.

Media critics have suggested that it would be more responsible to air Trump’s comments spliced with fact checks.

But as Daniels has found out, all things Trump draw eyeballs, even two years into his presidency. People who love him and people who hate him still tune in to see what he will say.

Welcome to America, the reality show.

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