WASHINGTON On Friday, President Donald Trump weighed in publicly for the first time about the domestic violence allegations leveled at one of his closest aides.

Trump said he was sad to hear the news about Rob Porter , who was White House staff secretary until this week, but he never once condemned Porter or offered words of support to his victims.

Instead, Trump wished him well and made a point to remind everyone that Porter has said hes innocent:

We wish him well, he worked very hard. We found out about it recently and I was surprised by it, but we certainly wish him well, and its a tough time for him. He did a very good job when he was in the White House.

And we hope he has a wonderful career, and he will have a great career ahead of him. But it was very sad when we heard about it, and certainly hes also very sad now.

He also, as you probably know, says hes innocent, and I think you have to remember that. He said very strongly yesterday that hes innocent, so you have to talk to him about that.

Porter resigned this week after his two ex-wives came forward and said he had physically and verbally abused them while they were married. One woman even provided photos of the violence she said he inflicted on her during a vacation.

Porter initially received support from White House chief of staff John Kelly, who put out a statement praising him as a man of true integrity and honor . Only a day later, after significant public backlash, did Porter announce his resignation.

White House officials then said they were stunned to learn the extent of the allegations, even though Porters ex-wives had told the FBI hed abused them and Kelly reportedly knew about the claims for months . Porter was also unable to get a security clearance because of the incidents.

Trumps reaction is consistent with the way he and his supporters have handled other sexual misconduct allegations against powerful men.

Roy Moore