Trump Fully Endorses Roy Moore Despite Sexual Misconduct Allegations — Here's Where He Stands Now
Monday morning, President Trump fully endorsed Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore on Twitter.
The endorsement came a day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell walked back his previous condemnation of the candidate, telling ABC that he wants to "let the people of Alabama decide" who to elect. Previously, McConnell called for Moore to step down, and was reportedly exploring options for a write-in campaign.
In November, less than a month before the special December 12th Senate election, eight women came forward to accuse Moore of sexual misconduct that ranged from having a sexual relationship with a minor to groping. The explosive allegations added to a bevy of controversial statements made by Moore, who was twice kicked off of the Alabama Supreme Court, that included the assertion that "homosexual conduct" should be illegal and that it's still an open question whether or not President Obama was born in the US.
Despite these facts, Moore has maintained a high level of support in Alabama. RealClearPolitics, a website that aggregates polling data, shows that on average in recent polls, Moore leads his Democratic opponent by 3.2 points. Jones led Moore in the polls for a 10-day period in November when talk of the allegations was at a high point.
Monday, Politico published a critique of polling in the state, saying that numerous variables (such as the timing and the small number of local polling firms) make polling for the election unreliable.
Since the allegations against Moore first surfaced, Moore and other far-right politicians and groups have tried to portray the reports as "fake news." Numerous people received a robocall that appeared to be an attempt at an impersonation of a Washington Post reporter searching for disparaging statements against Moore — an apparent attempt to undermine the reports published by the Post about Moore's alleged sexual misconduct. Project Veritas, a far-right media group, sent an undercover actor to meet with a Post reporter in an attempt to fool the publication with an outlandish story about Moore — another attempt to undermine the publication's reports. Moore himself has explicitly called the allegations against him "fake news."
Polls show the tactics may be working: according to CBS, 71% of likely Republican voters don't believe the allegations against Moore.
Update 1:41 PM, 12.4.2017: The White House has issued a statement saying that President Trump personally called Roy Moore to endorse him. Moore tweeted about the call.
