President Trump on Monday officially endorsed Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for Senate in Alabama, less than a month after Moore was accused by multiple women of inappropriate sexual conduct while they were teenagers and he was in his early 30s. Moore tweeted the news of the coveted endorsement and quoted the president as saying, "Go get 'em, Roy!"
The White House confirmed the endorsement in a statement, saying Trump "had a positive phone call" with Moore.
After allegations of Moore's sexual misconduct became public, the White House declined to comment one way or another on the race, saying that the people of Alabama should make their own decision. In the last two weeks, however, the administration had all but endorsed Moore's campaign while attacking the Democratic candidate, Doug Jones, for his positions on immigration and abortion.
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Trump reportedly sees parallels between himself and Moore, as both men have been accused of sexual assault and both were (temporarily) abandoned and denounced by prominent Republicans. Trump isn't the only Republican to warm up to Moore, either: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called on Moore to "step aside" on Nov. 13, but on Sunday backtracked that statement, saying, "I think we're going to let the people of Alabama decide ... who they want to send to the Senate, and then we'll address the matter appropriately."
A CBS News poll published Sunday found that Moore leads Jones 49 percent to 43 percent and that 71 percent of Alabama Republicans do not believe the allegations against him.
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