Roy Moore: President Trump supports GOP Senate candidate despite accusations.

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday discounted allegations of sexual assault against Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore and said voters should not support Moore’s “liberal” rival.

Trump addressed the swirling controversy surrounding Moore for the first time since top Republican leaders called on Moore to step aside more than a week ago.

“We don’t need a liberal person in there,” Trump said of Moore’s rival, Democrat Doug Jones. “We don’t need somebody soft on crime like Jones.”

Trump said he will announce next week whether he will campaign on Moore’s behalf. Trump spoke to reporters at the White House before leaving for a Thanksgiving break at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.

Six women have accused Moore of pursuing romantic relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was an assistant district attorney in his 30s. Two have accused him of assault or molestation; he vehemently denies the allegations.

Trump, who won election last fall despite more than a dozen accusations of sexual misconduct against him personally, dismissed questions from reporters about backing a man accused of sexual assault over a man who is a Democrat. Trump pointed to Moore’s assertions that he did nothing wrong.

“Roy Moore denies it, that’s all I can say. He denies it,” Trump said.

He also noted that the allegations concerned behavior alleged to have happened decades ago.

“Forty years is a long time,” Trump said, questioning why it took so long for Moore’s accusers to come forward.

Previously, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had said only that Trump “thinks that the people of Alabama should make the decision on who their next senator should be.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, both Republicans, have called on Moore to leave the race in light of the accusations. The Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee have pulled their support for Moore’s campaign ahead of the Dec. 12 special election to fill the seat once held by Republican Jeff Sessions, now the U.S. attorney general.

Trump said he is “very happy” that women are speaking out about their experiences.

“I think it’s a very special time because a lot of things are coming out and I think that’s good for our society and I think it’s very, very good for women,” Trump said.