For nearly two weeks, the White House has been tiptoeing around the sexual assault allegations against Roy Moore, neither condemning nor defending the embattled Senate candidate, who has been accused of pursuing teenage girls for dates as a grown man and even touching a 14-year-old girl sexually when he was 32.
But on Monday, White House officials had a new message—one not quite endorsing Moore, but making it clear they’re rooting for him. The shift began on Fox & Friends Monday morning, when senior advisor Kellyanne Conway veered from a discussion of tax reform to slam Moore’s Democratic opponent.
“Doug Jones in Alabama, folks, don’t be fooled,” Conway said. “He will be a vote against tax cuts. He is weak on crime. Weak on borders. He is strong on raising your taxes. He is terrible for property owners.”
Host Brian Kilmeade cut in: “So vote Roy Moore?”
“I’m telling you that we want the votes in the Senate to get this tax bill through,” Conway responded. “If the media were really concerned about all of these allegations, and if that’s what this is truly about, and the Democrats—Al Franken would be on the ash heap of bygone half-funny comedians.”
Asked about Conway’s comments Monday afternoon, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders did not dispute the new rhetoric.
“The president wants people in the House and the Senate who support his agenda, but the Hatch Act prohibits me from going any further,” Sanders said, referencing the federal law prohibiting most executive-branch employees from engaging in political campaign activity.
Worth Remembering—Ivanka Trump, an official in the White House and the daughter of the president, said this just days ago about the accusations against Moore: “There is a special place in hell for people who prey on children. I’ve yet to see a valid explanation, and I have no reason to doubt the victims’ accounts.”
Read more on Moore and Alabama from my WEEKLY STANDARD colleagues. Chris Deaton, reporting from Birmingham, has a great look at Moore’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, who has gone from an also-ran in a deep-red state to a “could-he-be” in a topsy-turvy political climate. Jones could win, polls show, but he has one big problem: He’s a liberal’s liberal on abortion.
Meanwhile, David Byler does another thorough dive into the polls, which continue to show the accusations have hurt an already weak Moore candidacy. Jones, meanwhile, has gained ground. The problem, Byler notes, is that we still don’t know what kind of electorate will turn out. Stay tuned.
Photo of the Day
Melania Trump and Barron Trump view the White House Christmas Tree at the North Portico of the White House on November 20, 2017. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
2020 Watch—New York City mayor Bill de Blasio plans to travel next month to Iowa. Speaking to Politico ahead of the trip, de Blasio cast himself as a more spry Bernie Sanders, reflecting the direction the winds of the Democratic party are blowing these days.
“I have been very open about the act that I wish the national party had actually run on that platform,” de Blasio said. “If the party does not bring the progressive wing in more fully, then it’s at the party’s peril. I think there was a huge mistake made in 2016 to not invite in the Bernie Sanders movement more effectively.”
North Korea Watch—President Trump announced Monday that he would designate North Korea a state sponsor of terror, calling it a “murderous regime” that supports “acts of international terrorism.” The move reversed a decision President George W. Bush made over a decade ago as part of a failed attempt to strike a nuclear deal with Kim Jong-il. It’s a decision that’s been a long time coming—North Korea never should have lost that designation, as Steve Hayes noted repeatedly at the time.
Another major public figure is facing credible sexual harassment charges—this time, veteran television journalist Charlie Rose of CBS and PBS. The Washington Post has the well-reported details:
The reports about Rose come the same day as reports of sexual misconduct by New York Times White House reporter Glenn Thrush toward younger female colleagues.
Song of the Day—“Reason to Believe” by Rod Stewart
