Trump Endorses Roy Moore

President Donald Trump endorsed embattled Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore in his race against Democrat Doug Jones, saying on Twitter Monday morning that his vote was needed in the Senate.

“Democrats refusal to give even one vote for massive Tax Cuts is why we need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama,” Trump tweeted. “We need his vote on stopping crime, illegal immigration, Border Wall, Military, Pro Life, V.A., Judges 2nd Amendment and more. No to Jones, a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet!”

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The president had avoided explicitly endorsing Moore on Twitter and largely refrained from throwing his full support behind the GOP Senate candidate for weeks after Moore fielded allegations of sexual harassment and assault. One woman, in particular, accused Moore of pursuing her and touching her when she was 14 and he was 32. Moore has refused to bow out of the election.

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But Trump ended his silence on Twitter just eight days before the election and pointed to the danger his agenda would face if the GOP’s slim Senate majority slipped by one more seat.

Trump argued that allowing Jones to snatch the seat that once belonged to Attorney General Jeff Sessions would give Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a key victory in their party’s efforts to obstruct the Trump administration.

“Putting Pelosi/Schumer Liberal Puppet Jones into office in Alabama would hurt our great Republican Agenda of low on taxes, tough on crime, strong on military and borders…& so much more,” Trump tweeted. “Look at your 401-k’s since Election. Highest Stock Market EVER! Jobs are roaring back!”

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Before Trump took to Twitter Monday, his tweets about the Senate race in Alabama avoided offering Moore an endorsement and instead focused on bashing Jones. On November 26, Trump had tweeted: “The last thing we need in Alabama and the U.S. Senate is a Schumer/Pelosi puppet who is WEAK on Crime, WEAK on the Border, Bad for our Military and our great Vets, Bad for our 2nd Amendment, AND WANTS TO RAISES TAXES TO THE SKY. Jones would be a disaster!”

Related: Mitch McConnell Gives Up Call for Roy Moore to Step Aside

But when the White House began offering more vocal support for Moore last week, some GOP congressional leaders who had been calling for Moore to step down began toning it down. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who urged Moore in early November to “step aside” from the race “if these allegations are true,” struck a softer tone last week on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” and Sunday during an interview on ABC News’ “This Week.”

“I’m going to let the people of Alabama make the call,” McConnell said on “This Week.” “The ethics committee will have to consider the matters that have been litigated in the campaign should that particular candidate win.”

(photo credit, homepage images: Donald Trump, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore; photo credit, article images: Donald Trump, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore)