Trump tacitly endorses accused child molester
DONALD Trump has stood behind a Republican senate candidate who is facing multiple sexual harassment claims, including that he touched a 14-year-old girl sexually.
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has stood up for Republican senate candidate Roy Moore, tacitly endorsing the election of a man who is accused sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Mr Moore, a conservative judge from Alabama, has denied the accounts of multiple women who have accused him of sexual misconduct towards them. Six women say he pursued romantic relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. Two others accused him of assault or molestation.
Mr Trump stepped into the Alabama senate race today, discounting the women’s claims and telling voters not to support Mr Moore’s Democratic rival, Doug Jones.
“We don’t need a liberal person in there,” Mr Trump told reporters on Tuesday at the White House.
When asked whether Mr Trump believed the accounts of the women, Mr Trump repeatedly said that Mr Moore “denies it”.
“If you look at what is really going on … he totally denies it, he says it didn’t happen,” he said.
The President criticised Mr Jones as “terrible” on crime, border security, the military and gun rights.
“You don’t need someone who’s soft on crime like Jones,” he said.
The President’s comments line up with those of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, who appeared to endorse Mr Moore on Monday when she criticised the “liberal” leanings of his opponent.
“Doug Jones in Alabama, folks, don’t be fooled. He will be a vote against tax cuts. He’s weak on crime, weak on borders. He’s strong on raising your taxes. He’s terrible for property owners,” she told Fox News.
When asked whether she was telling voters to support Mr Moore, she said the administration wanted the votes to get tax cuts over the line.
The Republican National Committee has withdrawn support for Mr Moore, but the White House position has been less clear until today.
Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has repeatedly declined to take a position on the allegations, saying only that it was up to the Alabama voters to decide who their next senator should be.
The senate seat became vacant after Mr Trump appointed Jeff Sessions as attorney-general. Polls show Mr Moore and Mr Jones are neck-and-neck with three weeks to go until the special election.
— with AP
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