--- title: Michael Avenatti Says He's 'Exploring' a Presidential Run description: Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing porn star Stormy Daniels, said he is "exploring a run for the presidency of the United States." canonical: https://time.com/5363537/avenatti-explores-presidential-run/ author: Gina Martinez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-10T01:29:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T07:45:20.708Z article:section: Politics og:title: Stormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti Tells Iowans He's 'Exploring a Run for the Presidency' og:description: Avenatti is scheduled to speak at a Democratic fundraiser in Iowa og:url: https://time.com/5363537/avenatti-explores-presidential-run/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef882bc92404719d/698931df929fada177bf0b53/michaelavenatti.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Former Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Returns To Court In New York City og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti Tells Iowans He's 'Exploring a Run for the Presidency' twitter:description: Avenatti is scheduled to speak at a Democratic fundraiser in Iowa twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef882bc92404719d/698931df929fada177bf0b53/michaelavenatti.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti Tells Iowans He's 'Exploring a Run for the Presidency' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ca3874d6-ff78-4946-82a8-c432e159794d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Stormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti Tells Iowans He's 'Exploring a Run for the Presidency' [Watch (HLS stream): Stormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti Tells Iowans He's 'Exploring a Run for the Presidency'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Tt5dzIGt.m3u8) (0:35)  _Published 2018-08-10. Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing porn star Stormy Daniels in a case against President Donald Trump, took a swing through Iowa on Thursday and said he is “exploring a run for the presidency of the United States.”_ by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Aug 10, 2018 1:29 AM UTC Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing porn star Stormy Daniels in a case against President Donald Trump, took a swing through Iowa on Thursday and said he is “exploring a run for the presidency of the United States.” by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Aug 10, 2018 1:29 AM UTC Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing porn star [Stormy Daniels](http://time.com/5220087/donald-trump-underestimated-stormy-daniels/) in a case [against President Donald Trump](http://time.com/5278027/donald-trump-stormy-daniels-payoff-campaign/), took a swing through Iowa on Thursday and said he is “exploring a run for the presidency of the United States.” “I wanted to come to Iowa and listen to people and learn about some issues that are facing the citizens of Iowa and do my homework,” Avenatti told the[ De Moines _Register._](https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/08/09/michael-avenatti-iowa-wing-ding-president-exploring-run-caucus-2020-stormy-daniels/935636002/) > [](https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1027641417659834368) Avenatti is scheduled to speak at the Democratic Wing Ding fundraiser Friday night in Clear Lake, Iowa alongside Maryland Rep. John Delaney and Ohio Rep Tim Ryan. He told the _Register_ he hopes to be taken seriously by Democrats. “I think there’s a huge appetite within the party for a fighter,” he said. “I think the party has yearned for a fighter — a fighter for good, if you will — for a significant period of time. And for many, I’m probably seen as that individual.” Avenatti rose to national prominence for his frequent cable news appearances and vocal attacks on Trump and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Cohen admitted to paying Daniels $130,000 shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has denied the adult film star’s allegation that they carried on an affair. ## Transcript I'm here to listen to the great people of Iowa explore the fair and figure out if it makes and sense to run for the presidency or not. How seriously are you considering this? I'm serious about considering it. I haven't made a decision as to what I'm gonna do. I'll make the decision in the coming weeks. I do think I could beat the President in a general election and I think there's a number of reasons for that. I think that it's going to be a brutal campaign. I think it's gonna require a fighter, I think it's gonna require somebody that's scrappy, and I think it's going to require someone to engage in a significant cage match for the future of this country. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5363537/avenatti-explores-presidential-run/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5363537/avenatti-explores-presidential-run/"},"headline":"Stormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti Tells Iowans He's 'Exploring a Run for the Presidency'","datePublished":"2018-08-10T01:29:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-13T07:45:20.708Z","description":"Avenatti is scheduled to speak at a Democratic fundraiser in Iowa","url":"https://time.com/5363537/avenatti-explores-presidential-run/","keywords":["Iowa","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef882bc92404719d/698931df929fada177bf0b53/michaelavenatti.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Gina Martinez","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef882bc92404719d/698931df929fada177bf0b53/michaelavenatti.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Returns To Court In New York City","caption":"Former Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Returns To Court In New York City","creditText":"Spencer Platt—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iowa/","name":"Iowa"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5363537/avenatti-explores-presidential-run/","name":"Stormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti Tells Iowans He's 'Exploring a Run for the Presidency'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Stormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti Tells Iowans He's 'Exploring a Run for the Presidency'","description":"Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing porn star Stormy Daniels in a case against President Donald Trump, took a swing through Iowa on Thursday and said he is “exploring a run for the presidency of the United States.”","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Tt5dzIGt/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-08-10T08:16:56.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Tt5dzIGt.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5363537/avenatti-explores-presidential-run/","duration":"PT35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5363537/avenatti-explores-presidential-run/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```