Trump Endorses Moore Despite Molestation Charges
President Trump put his thumb on the scale for Roy Moore, ignoring the allegations of harassment and sexual abuse that have been made against the candidate.
After weeks in which the White House danced around the issues raised by the charges against Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore that range from a predilection toward dating and making advances on teenaged girls when he was in his thirties to claims that he physically assaulted and molested at least two women, one of whom was just 14-years-old at the time, President Trump effectively endorsed Roy Moore yesterday as he was leaving the White House to spend the Thanksgiving Day weekend in Florida:
WASHINGTON — President Trump broke with leading Republicans on Tuesday and voiced support for Roy S. Moore, the Republican Senate candidate in Alabama who has been accused of sexual misconduct with teenagers and has seen his campaign’s prospects imperiled.
In his first extensive remarks on the accusations that date back decades, the president cited the vigorous denials by Mr. Moore, who is facing off in a high-stakes special election against Doug Jones, the Democratic candidate.
“He totally denies it,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Moore, who has been accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl and sexually assaulting another teenager.
Mr. Trump also said he was “very happy” that women in the United States are now coming forward with accusations of sexual misconduct against lawmakers and media figures, many of them Democrats.
Asked by a reporter about whether electing “a child molester” was better than electing a Democrat in the Alabama race, Mr. Trump responded by insisting that Mr. Moore denies the charges against him.
“He says it didn’t happen,” the president — who himself has been accused of, and denied, a history of sexual impropriety — told reporters at the White House. “You have to listen to him, also.”
Mr. Trump’s willingness to accept Mr. Moore’s denials underscored the growing Republican divide in Washington, where party officials have worried that their connections to Mr. Moore — a Breitbart News-backed candidate — would taint establishment candidates across the country. Senate Republicans said on Tuesday that they were bewildered by Mr. Trump’s weighing in on the Alabama race after he had remained quiet, and they said that the president had put them in a difficult position.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin said last week that the accusations against Mr. Moore were credible, and called for him to abandon his campaign. Other senators have warned that Mr. Moore could be expelled if he were to be elected in the Dec. 12 vote.
But Mr. Trump set aside those concerns and suggested that a victory by Mr. Jones would jeopardize an agenda that the president’s administration was already struggling to advance. Referring to some of the issues that Alabama voters prize, Mr. Trump attacked Mr. Jones, a former federal prosecutor in Birmingham who is now leading Mr. Moore in some polls that were taken after the misconduct accusations surfaced nearly two weeks ago.
“We don’t need a liberal person in there, a Democrat, Jones,” Mr. Trump said. “I’ve looked at his record. It’s terrible on crime. It’s terrible on the border. It’s terrible on the military.”
The president suggested that the passage of time, and the fact that Mr. Moore’s accusers did not come forward earlier, should call into question the accusations. And he noted that Mr. Moore has been elected repeatedly by voters in Alabama.
“I do have to say, 40 years is a long time,” Mr. Trump said as he left for a five-day Thanksgiving vacation at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla. “He’s run eight races, and this has never come up. So 40 years is a long time.”
In a statement after Mr. Trump’s remarks, Mr. Jones’s campaign said, “Doug believes the women, and that the people of Alabama will hold Roy Moore accountable.”
(…)
Until Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Trump had remained mostly quiet about the accusations against Mr. Moore. He had left it to his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, to say that the president believed it was up to Alabama voters to decide the race to fill the seat left vacant by Jeff Sessions, now the attorney general.
The White House, though, had begun signaling its worries about the policy consequences of a victory by Mr. Jones. Kellyanne Conway, the counselor to the president, said on Monday on Fox News that Mr. Jones could not be counted on to support the tax changes that Mr. Trump is trying to push through Congress.
“Doug Jones in Alabama, folks, don’t be fooled,” she said. “He will be a vote against tax cuts. He is weak on crime. Weak on borders. He is strong on raising your taxes. He is terrible for property owners.”
Asked whether that meant that the White House was urging a vote for Mr. Moore, Ms. Conway said, “I’m telling you that we want the votes in the Senate to get this tax bill through.”
Mr. Trump’s defense of Mr. Moore, who has been abandoned by nearly all of the Republican establishment in Washington, was seen as tantamount to an endorsement.
(…)
[Onn Tuesday, Mr. Trump’s bottom-line position seemed to align with many of Alabama’s most influential Republicans. Gov. Kay Ivey has said that she both believes Mr. Moore’s accusers and that she intends to vote for him. And last week, the Alabama Republican Party’s steering committee opted to reaffirm the party’s support for Mr. Moore’s nomination.
Just one statewide Republican organization — the Young Republican Federation of Alabama — has publicly withdrawn its support for Mr. Moore, its steering committee saying in a resolution over the weekend that its “duty is not to the individual candidates but to the longstanding growth and sustainability of the Republican Party.” Senator Richard C. Shelby, the state’s ranking lawmaker, said he would not cast his ballot for Mr. Moore, who was, in effect, twice removed from the Alabama Supreme Court for defiance of federal judges.
Given the fact that Kellyanne Conway had already said on Monday that Moore would be a reliably Republican vote on tax reform and other issues, the fact that the President decided to drop this particular bomb on the race in Alabama at this point is hardly surprising. Even while he was campaigning for Luther Strange prior to the runoff primary election in September, Trump seemed to suggest that Moore would be an acceptable as well and that he could be back in Alabama campaigning with him should he win the primary. This was prior to the time that the allegations against Moore became public at the time, but at the time many observers said that Trump effectively undercut the candidate he was supposedly endorsing and essentially gave his supporters permission to ignore his endorsement and vote for Moore if they wanted to. It was also seen as a slap aimed at Mitch McConnell and other top Republicans who were strongly behind Strange because they believed even then that Moore would end up being a political liability for Republicans nationally due to his record and the many offensive and controversial remarks he’s made over the years, which will inevitably be used by Democrats against Republican candidates across the country in 2018. The fact that most of these candidates will have distanced themselves from Moore may help somewhat, but the fact that the leader of their party is endorsing him, dismissing the entirely credible allegations from the women who accused him and saying that the passage of time is somehow an excuse for ignoring the fact that a candidate for Senate is not only accused of sexual harassment, but of assaulting and molesting teenage girls, will inevitably be a problem.
As I noted on Twitter yesterday afternoon, of all the disgusting and outrageous things that Donald Trump has done as a man, as a so-called “celebrity,” as a candidate for President, and as President, this is without question the most disgusting. While he didn’t say exactly the same thing that Alabama Governor Kay Ivey did, the message is the same. As far as Donald Trump is concerned, whether or not Moore actually did what he stands accused of is true is irrelevant. All that matters is that Moore is a Republican who will, supposedly be a reliable vote in favor of the President’s agenda. Additionally it’s worth noting that Trump’s comments about Trump’s Democratic opponent Doug Jones are complete nonsense. There’s nothing in Jones’s platform that can be called “soft on crime,” for example, something that can be seen in his record as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, most especially in the fact that he successfully prosecuted two members of the Ku Klux Klan for the August 1963 church bombing in Birmingham that killed four young African-American girls. Additionally, as Jones’s own campaign platform shows, his policy positions on issues like crime are basically mainstream and arguably somewhat to the right of the rest of the Democratic Party, which is understandable given that he’s from Alabama. In any case, the President is essentially saying that a child molester is more acceptable than a moderate Democrat. I’ll leave it for the reader to draw their own conclusions from that.
Johnathan Chait calls Trump’s endorsement of Moore “the Trumpiest decision ever,” and that’s certainly a good way of putting it. It’s perfectly in line with everything that we know about this President as a man and a politician, and it demonstrates the fact that, as Chait put it, this President and his Administration don’t care about sexual abuse, he (and they) care about winning and scoring political points against political enemies. Additionally, the fact that Trump has dismissed the allegations against Moore about saying that Moore has denied the allegations is consistent with the way that Trump has handled the allegations of sexual harassment that were made against him in the wake of last October’s release of the Access Hollywood tape. More than a dozen women have come forward with allegations against the President, and he and his supporters have responded by calling them liars. For Trump to acknowledge the veracity of Moore’s accuser, or to suggest as many people have that women who make such allegations should be believed, would be to undercut his own position with respect to the allegations against him. Indeed, as the reports in Politico and at CNN about how yesterday’s endorsement came about, it’s clear that at least part of Trump’s concern about the idea of condemning Moore or distancing himself from him because of the allegations against Trump personally.
It’s hard to see what impact the President’s words will have on the race itself. As things stand, the RealClearPolitics average shows Doug Jones with a small lead over Moore, and the polling remains incredibly close for Alabama. At the same time, though, the fact that the President is endorsing Moore could cause some Republican voters who have been repulsed by the allegations against Moore to rethink their positions between now and the Special Election on December 12th. Given how tight the race is, even a small shift back toward Moore could end up having a big impact. There is still a possibility that Jones could win the race, but it isn’t going to be easy, and if I had to make a guess right now it would be that Moore still ends up winning. This is Alabama, after all, and there hasn’t been a Democrat elected to the Senate from that state in more than twenty years now. This could be the time that streak is broken, but it’s going to be a close call in the end.
In any case, as I said Trump has done many appalling things as President and this just ads to the list.
re·pub·li·can
rəˈpəbləkən/
noun
1. a member or supporter of a political party characterized by bottomless depravity
Moore may win this race…but it is certain to be a pyrrhic victory.
The Republican party is now overtly the party of child molesters and sexual assaulters. I suspect women will run away from the GOP (Gross Old Perverts) in droves. How can a father with daughters vote for these people?
The destruction of a, once great, political party is nearly complete.
@Daryl’s other brother Darryl:
My impression of the Moorekins is that they’ve dismissed all of Moore’s accusers as lying sluts paid off by the Washington Post, Mitch McConnell, and the Democrats.
One Alabama pastor has claimed that if Moore dated teenagers, it was only because he was “in search of purity.”
I will say that Moore certainly seemed determined to relieve the 14-year-old and the 16-year-old of their “purity.”
Fair or not, true or not, it’s an utter travesty that Democrats can’t get out from under this “worse than a child molester” thing. This should be a gimme. Why isn’t it?
Yes, yes, I know, I know, the Republicans are “deplorable.” But WTF?
Meanwhile:
Democrats Show Support for Senator Menendez After His Mistrial
@James Pearce:
Because you and yours are…yes…deplorable. You have no sense of decency. No sense of morality. No principles.
You and yours are pathetic human beings.
But people far wealthier than you will get a massive tax cut.
So I guess it’s worth it to you, for some reason.
@Daryl’s other brother Darryl:
They’re more than that. They’re the party of child molesters and sexual assaulters who are going to raise your taxes to pay for a rich man’s tax cut and might possibly destroy the world in a nuclear confrontation.
And the Democrats are the party of child molesters and sexual assaulters who have NO ANSWERS.
@James Pearce:
Racist tribalism is a hell of a drug.
@Daryl’s other brother Darryl:
They voted for Trump. And when, exactly, was the Republican Party great?
Want to know why they’ll vote for Moore? Read Adam Serwer in The Atlantic, The Nationalist’s Delusion. Best thing I’ve read on politics in a long time.
@James Pearce:
There are no answers for people as pathetically ignorant as you.
@Daryl’s other brother Darryl:
I’m a liberal independent, which basically means I’m a Democrat and for the last year or so I’ve seen an unblemished record of “my side” getting outplayed and clowned at every turn. The only “victories” have come at the hands of dissenting GOPers or the courts, and you’re over here acting like name-calling is still where it’s at.
Cut it out.
@James Pearce:
Nonsense…you are here every day lathering yourself over the fat orange blob in the White House, and spewing foolishness like the rest of the sycophants.
@Daryl’s other brother Darryl: If Moore wins, the Dem campaign ads will almost write themselves. There will be no Clintons on the ballot and, by then, there’s a high likelihood that at least one Trump decision will have turned out to have recognizably adverse consequences. Now, if the Dems can just field some promising candidates . . .
@SC_Birdflyte: Now, if the Dems can just field some promising candidates . . .
I don’t think that is their main problem. They need a consistent message that is pushed by the party. I’d like to see some mild populism, not necessarily because i agree with it, but because I think it might work. Something like the Democrats will protect and grow the middle class. With the current tax bill, the Republicans are actively trying to damage the middle class. After all, when you’ve lost Forbes on a tax cut, it must be pretty irresponsible.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stancollender/2017/11/19/gop-tax-bill-is-the-end-of-all-economic-sanity-in-washington/2/#24892ef1493a
@SC_Birdflyte:
And … can at least one of those presidential candidates be under the age of 70 in 2020?
Remember the Democrat outrage when Republicans supported convicted Felon Ted Stevens for the Senate in 2007?
For some reason, Democrats never bring it up. Wonder Why? Old News?
@SC_Birdflyte:
This.
The big wins in Virginia were because there were some great candidates, including the transgender woman who simply wanted to get a road fixed.
Jones, the guy running against Moore, is a great candidate for Alabama. (I guess if he were a child molester he might win?)
And SenyorDave is right…there has to be more of a message than just “Not Trump”.
But more than anything Bernie and Clinton and Biden have to disappear. They are taking all the oxygen which is preventing any new leaders from rising.
@Paul L.:
Good questions!
1. Could it be because it is not a story?
2. Maybe it’s because Ted died 7 years ago and Republicans
have not yet tied his “death” to Hillary Clinton?
@gVOR08: “They voted for Trump. And when, exactly, was the Republican Party great?”
1860-1865.
@Paul L.: Shorter Paul L,: “I’m okay supporting child molesters as long as my team wins.”
@Stormy Dragon:..Meanwhile:
In the United States a defendant in a criminal proceeding is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The several times I have been called for jury duty Judges have asked me directly (not just the group of us at once but each prospective juror individually) “do you have a problem with the fact that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty.”
My understanding of a mistrial is that the defendant has not been proven guilty of the charges.
Senator Menendez has not been found guilty and is by definition innocent of the charges brought against him.
This is how the justice system works in this country.
Maybe you have something else in mind?
@Daryl’s other brother Darryl: I’ll come to James’ defense a bit here: as much as he criticizes Democrats, he doesn’t support Trump in the least. There is a difference between him and MBunge.
@Daryl’s other brother Darryl: I hope this Jones is a centrist conservative Democrat in the southern tradition of Johnson, Fulbright, Long, Connally, Thompson, Hollings, Carter, Nunn.
Some of the national Democrats are tso far out in left field they are in foul territory.
@Mister Bluster:
Isn’t this the exact same defense Moore’s supporters are making?
Maybe what Menendez did isn’t illegal. It should still make him unfit to be the candidate for Senator.
@Mister Bluster:
In the Authoritarian system that the fat orange blob and his cult of his sycophants intend to invoke only the Cheeto-Dick himself will have the power to decide who is guilty and who is innocent, as well as what is true and what is false.
Roy Moore is innocent.
The Central Park 5; guilty.
Mike Flynn; Innocent.
Every single Muslim; guilty.
@Tyrell:
The Democrats are the closest thing to a Conservative party this nation has.
@wr: Shorter Dems: “I’m okay with being superficially ‘against’ sexual abuse*, and I don’t care that much if we win or not.”
* Like…more “against” it when talking about Republicans.
@Tyrell:
He was part of the legal team that successfully prosecuted 2 KKK domestic terrorists for their part in the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham Alabama.
So of course he’s weak on crime.
@Monala:
Thank you for saying this. It’s true: My harsh criticism of Democrats is indeed inspired by massive disappointment and furious anger at Trump’s election and the Dems failure to stop it or address it effectively.
@al-Ameda:
Maybe because Ted Stevens was railroaded with manufactured evidence.
@wr:
Correction: “Accused child molesters” I have seen any proof beyond the Yearbook that Alfred will not allow to be examined.
Moore winning would upset eGOP and Franken/Coyers defending Democrats is icing on the dildo wedding cake.
@al-Ameda:
Alabama Senate hopeful Doug Jones defended man with ties to KKK, Holocaust deniers
Except for supporting Late Term Abortions and Gun Control.
@wr:
Wouda been my answer.
@Paul L.: From your link:
Proving that Fox News has no idea what a “civil rights champion” is or does.
@Paul L.:
1) I see you can’t defend Moore, since you’re continuously trying to deflect attention to some other bogeyman in every post.
2) But surely you’re aware that U.S. courts are adversarial and require defense attorneys (even for *gasp* bad guys) in order to work as designed? On second thought, I’d guess you’re probably not aware.
@Paul L.”
Correction: that she won’t hand over to Moore since she’s not that stupid unlike some people I could mention. Honestly, who hands over evidence of guilt to the accused? “Hey, here’s proof you murdered that guy! Sure, I’ll hand the gun over – what could possibly go wrong?” She offered to turn it over to Congress (there’s no law enforcement involved so it’s not like the police care) for testing but NOT Moore.
This is an incredible stupid talking point. Moore’s not getting his grubby little hands on something that can hurt him. Pick a neutral 3rd party for testing like she did but be real.
@Stormy Dragon:..Isn’t this the exact same defense Moore’s supporters are making?
@KM:
Allred with not allow the Yearbook to be examined by anyone unless there is a Senate hearing.
Of course this means nothing to those who believe the Bush TANG memos were genuine.
Or like Mike Nifong with DNA test results.
@Paul L.: “I have seen any proof beyond the Yearbook that Alfred will not allow to be examined.”
Shorter Paul L again: “I’m fine with child molesters AND I’ll repeat anything Hannity says, no matter how big a moron it makes me look.’
@Mister Bluster:
Doug’s point applies just as well to Menendez:
Public opinion is not limited by the same standards as a criminal trial. I’m not required to believe OJ is innocent just because he was acquitted. Likewise, the lack of a legal reckoning for Menendez, Moore, etc. does not make them automatically fit for office.
@Paul L.:
… Speaking of manufactured smears.
So, you don’t contest his role in prosecuting KKK murderers?.
Also, just so you know, attorneys often represent people with whom they share no political beliefs. You do know that, right? The ACLU does this frequently.
Late Term Abortions? How many LTA’s are performed each year, and how many are medically necessary. Is that number similar to the number of people annually killed in gun violence?
Gun Control? Whatever. Americans love guns and violence, that will never change. It’s a public health problem that we’re not interested in addressing.
Hmm…can any Republican/conservative counter this ad…
@al-Ameda:
FWIW on gun control.
I went out to California for my birthday a little over a week ago, spending a few days in Santa Cruz and a little time in San Francisco. The plastic bag ban, which we don’t have here in Denver, got me thinking:
What if our attempts at regulation generally weren’t so ham-handed and goofy? Would it be easier to pass gun control?
Of course it wouldn’t…the NRA and so many gun nuts are absolutists about this…if the government weren’t so “ham-handed and goofy” do you really think the gun fetishists would allow something like the CDC to study gun violence…
@James Pearce: “Fair or not, true or not, it’s an utter travesty that Democrats can’t get out from under this “worse than a child molester” thing. This should be a gimme. Why isn’t it?”
It’s not a gimme in the eyes of *republicans*. And given the fact that ~99% of right-wing accusations are Freudian projection, the reason that most of these people think so is…?
@Stormy Dragon:..Maybe what Menendez did isn’t illegal. It should still make him unfit to be the candidate for Senator.
Yeah, there should be an arbitrary list of unethical behavior that would Constitutionaly disqualify any Citizen from candidacy to any Office of the United States.
Number One on my list:
Pigs are pigs that`s Dems or Repubs Drain the swamp and get some clean water back in the pool.
@barbintheboonies:
I’m really having a problem understanding your metaphor. Do you want more or less water in wetlands and tidal pools?
@Gustopher: I`d say more. It would clear faster.
@Mister Bluster: Only in a court of law. Public opinion will make or break him. He is most likely guilty, too many people have come out against him. I just hope he is guilty because if he is not that would really suck. I always thought that to bear false witness against someone was only second to murder in the ten commandments.
@James Pearce: Thank you We are all American, or most of us are. We need to see past us and them and call out wrong no matter what side we are on. This is not a cheering sport, we want what is best for all.
Who’s Next?
GOP congressman Barton apologizes for nude selfie
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) admitted that a nude picture of him circulating online is authentic and apologized to his constituents.
Say What?
Congressman Joe Barton Might Have Been the Victim of Revenge Porn
Texas Rep. Joe Barton may have been the victim of revenge porn, after an anonymous Twitter user posted explicit photos and texts of the longtime congressman.
OT:
Dateline: Dallas, Texas November 22, 1963
One of the few times in my 69 years that I remember exactly where I was when the news came down.
In other news: Two more women have accused Franken of groping them. Ba , bye Al.
@Daryl’s other brother Darryl: The Democrats are the closest thing to a Conservative party this nation has.
I dare you to say that with a straight face.
And what, if anything, about today’s GOP is “conservative”…
@John430:
Yea. About that? They’re anonymous, which is certainly convenient. Unfortunately for you (and your buddy Steve), Franken isn’t likely to be going anywhere.
@John430: My guess is Al Franken will resign and Conyers as well. However, Republicans don’t resign for being gropers…they just deny the allegations, attack their accusers and promise tax cuts.
I would think that the fact that Moore is a crackpot would be enough to keep him from winning that Senate seat. But this is Alabama and they are fine with adopting the same policy towards gay rights as the Taliban.
@Mister Bluster:
True. But that was the argument being put forth to defend Menendez. This is why 45% of the population doesn’t bother voting – the hypocrisy in politics, the sense that its different if my side does it.
@Mister Bluster:
You could generalize that to bragging about breaking any law. Young people brag about all sorts of illegal things – tax evasion, drunk driving, using illegal drugs. And with the Internet, its going to be increasingly easy to dig out such things from future politicians pasts.
It’ll be a lucrative new area of data mining.
@george:..And with the Internet, its going to be increasingly easy to dig out such things from future politicians pasts.
With Pumpkinhead in the White House your vision of the future may be here now!
Trump’s Tweets Are Hurting Him, And His Aides Can’t Stop Him
@george:
The 2 main factors that lead to non-voting are generally considered, among researchers, to be contentment and indifference. The first group believes things aren’t bad enough to bother trying to change, the second group believes the system will never change so why bother. I’m most sympathetic to the second group–in the american system, money gets what it wants. Exxon and Chevron have combined annual revenues of $550 Billion per year, so the US will probably not do anything about global warming for decades.
@teve tory:
And not just in the American system.
My take (based on an admittedly very unscientific sampling of people I know who can’t be bothered to vote, including many people with advanced degrees and several professors) is that many of them are indifferent because they think every politician is a liar and hypocrite – and as I said, they dislike the hypocrisy even more than the lying, because at least liars are intelligent enough to know they’re shoveling manure, while hypocrites are stupid enough to think their sh*t is different.
Interestingly enough, many of them are involved in various non-profit organizations (Oxfam, Sierra Club, Amnesty International), but are still too cynical to bother voting.
Polls show Judge Moore back on top. There may be some explanations.
1- A backlash (whiplash more like it) against the media and some politicians berating the people of Alabama.
2- The revelations of other scandals involving Charlie Rose, Senator Big Al, and a NYT reporter have clouded this issue and now it seems common, a “they’re doing it too, everybody is doing it attitude”
3- The alternative of a Democratic senator. Now this is a golden opportunity for Doug Jones. To do this he needs to cast himself as a Democrat in the southern tradition, distance himself from Hillary – Obama policies, and take a more centrist-conservative stand on the issues. He must make sure that he is in tune with the thinking of the people.
Jones has the door open here to re-energize the Southern Democrat party.