White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short on Sunday sidestepped no fewer than 13 questions from ABC News host George Stephanopoulos as to whether President Trump wants embattled Alabama candidate Roy Moore to win a seat in the Senate given credible allegations of his sexual misconduct toward teenage girls as young as 14. Here's a small sample of the merry-go-round interview:
Stephanopoulos: So, you're not willing to make a yes or no judgment on whether the president believes the women?
Short: I think I have answered your question three times now.
Stephanopoulos: No. I think what you have said is you have questions and concerns about the allegations.
Short: We do. We do have serious questions about the allegations. And the president has raised those and it's one of the reasons why he has not gone down to campaign for Roy Moore.
Stephanopoulos: So, he promised after the primary to back Roy Moore. Is he still backing Roy Moore?
Short: I don't think you have seen him go down there and campaign for him. I don't think you have seen him issue an endorsement. You have not seen him issue robocalls. I think he thinks at this point it is best for the people of Alabama to make the decision for their state.
Stephanopoulos: So he no longer backs Roy Moore?
Short: I think he thinks it is best for the people of Alabama to make the decision. [ABC]
After persistently pressing Short to give a yes or no answer, Stephanopoulos finally moved on to a simpler subject, tax reform. Watch the exchange below, or count all 13 questions in the full transcript here. Bonnie Kristian