President Donald Trump does not believe Stormy Daniels was threatened to stay quiet in 2011, deputy White House press secretary Raj Shah said Monday.
"The president doesn’t believe any of the claims that Ms. Daniels made last night in the interview are accurate," Shah said at the daily press briefing.
In a highly anticipated 60 Minutes interview Sunday, Stephanie Clifford, an adult film actor who performs as Stormy Daniels, claimed that in 2011 she was approached by a man in a parking lot who threatened her to stay quiet about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
Clifford, 39, was interviewed about the $130,000 payment she received from the president's attorney, Michael Cohen, right before the 2016 election, saying she struck the deal out of fear because she was "concerned for my family and their safety."
Clifford revealed that in 2011, after she agreed to tell her story about her alleged affair with Trump to In Touch magazine, she was threatened by a man in a Las Vegas parking lot.
"I was in a parking lot, going to a fitness class with my infant daughter," she said. "And a guy walked up on me and said to me, 'Leave Trump alone. Forget the story.' And he leaned around and looked at my daughter, and said, 'That's a beautiful girl, it would be a shame if something happened to her mom."
When asked if the president was aware of the threat, Shah said the president doesn't believe Clifford was ever threatened.
"The president doesn't believe any of the claims that Ms. Daniels made last night in the interview are accurate," he said, adding there is nothing to corroborate her claim.
In a cease-and-desist order sent to Clifford's attorney after the interview aired, Cohen's lawyer said his client had nothing to do with the person who made the threat nor does he believe that "any such person exists, or that such incident ever occurred."
Last year, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the administration had been clear that all of the women who have accused Trump of sexual harassment and misconduct are also lying.
During the 60 Minutes interview, Clifford said she remembers the face of the man who threatened her and would be able to recognize him immediately.
"Even now, all these years later. If he walked in this door right now, I would instantly know," she said.
Shah would not confirm whether Trump watched the interview Sunday night, saying "there are clips of it all over the morning news shows."
When asked why the president or his associates would pay people to keep them silent, Shah said, "false charges are settled out of court all the time. This is nothing outside the ordinary."
Shah referred any specifics about Clifford's agreement to Cohen.
Clifford's lawyer, Michael Avenatti, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CORRECTION
Clifford said she was "concerned for my family and their safety." An earlier version of this post misquoted her.