Trump backs Moore
Trump endorses Alabama candidate who has been accused of making sexual advances on teen girls.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday fully endorsed Roy Moore, acting to back the Alabama Senate candidate after conversations with his former strategist Steve Bannon, the head of Breitbart News who has advocated Moore’s candidacy.
Trump’s early morning tweets were his first all-out endorsement of Moore, who has been accused of making unwanted sexual advances on teenage girls. They came after Republican leaders began to back away in recent days from previous threats to expel Moore if he were to win the Dec. 12 election.
Also, the Republican National Committee has reversed itself and is once again supporting the candidate. An RNC official confirmed Monday the committee will resume its financial support to the Alabama Republican Party’s effort to elect Moore.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity. The reversal was first reported by Breitbart News.
The RNC announced three weeks ago that it was severing its fundraising ties to Moore following allegations that he’d molested two teenagers when he was in his 30s.
Trump called Moore on Monday morning.
“Go get ’em, Roy!” Trump told Moore, according to a description of the phone call that Moore posted on Twitter.
“Just got off the phone with President Trump who offered his full support and said he needs a fighter to help him in the US Senate,” Moore wrote.
Trump tweeted about Moore: “We need his vote on stopping crime, illegal immigration, Border Wall, Military, Pro Life, V.A., Judges 2nd Amendment and more.’’
Trump’s strong support came after a couple of polls showed Moore starting to re-establish a lead over Democrat Doug Jones, providing an argument to Moore’s backers that Trump’s support could make the difference.
A Washington Post poll released Saturday showed the race near a dead heat.
Some advisers to the president were concerned that if Trump didn’t come out more forcefully in favor of Moore, the former Alabama state judge could lose, according to people familiar with the conversations who spoke anonymously to comment on the internal discussions.
Bannon recently talked with Trump about putting the president’s full weight behind Moore, according to a person close to the White House who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. Trump is scheduled to hold a rally on Friday in the Florida Panhandle, which shares a media market with Mobile, Ala. The special election is to fill the seat of Jeff Sessions, who is now U.S. attorney general.
Also Monday, The Washington Post reported that a woman who claims she dated Moore when she was 17 says she has evidence proving their relationship. Debbie Wesson Gibson told The Post that her scrapbook includes indications of their relationship.
“Wednesday night, 3-481. Roy S. Moore and I went out for the first time. We went out to eat at Catfish Cabin in Albertville. I had a great time,” Gibson wrote.