President Trump posted two tweets Sunday morning reiterating his de facto endorsement of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who has been credibly accused of sexual misconduct, including assault, toward girls as young as 14:
Meanwhile, on Saturday, a New York Times story examining Trump's continued support for Moore reported the president has begun downplaying his own sexual assault allegations by saying on at least two occasions that the Access Hollywood tape may be fake. That is the recording which hears Trump boasting of grabbing women by their genitalia without their consent, and at the time of the tape's discovery last year, Trump acknowledged he was the speaker in the clip and apologized.
The Times analysis concluded that while part of Trump's decision to stand by Moore is a "cold political calculus" about the Senate's balance of power, some of it also appears to be about the president's identification with Moore as a fellow subject of sexual assault allegations.
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