President Donald Trump will not campaign for Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore before the December 12 special election, a White House official said today.
Despite public statements in which he raised doubts about the accounts of women who have accused Moore of sexual misconduct, Trump will not to travel to Alabama on Moore's behalf, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the president's plans publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The president held the door open to campaigning for Moore last week, when he all but endorsed Moore's candidacy and attacked his Democratic opponent, Doug Jones.
The announcement comes as Trump continued to wade into race over the weekend, taking to Twitter to bash Jones. Trump said electing the Democrat as Alabama's next senator "would be a disaster," warning of damage to his legislative agenda.
"The last thing we need in Alabama and the US 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," Trump wrote from Florida, referring to Democrats' congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.
Trump has declined to follow the path of other mainstream Republican leaders, who have called on Moore to step aside. Republican lawmakers are considering expelling Moore should he win the seat.
For weeks, accusations that Moore, now 70, sexually molested or assaulted two teens, ages 14 and 16 and tried to date several others while he was in his 30s have taken center stage in the heated Alabama race.
Moore denied the allegations of misconduct and said he never dated "underage" women.
Trump's words could be a boost to the Moore camp, since Democrats' hopes in the race partly depend upon peeling away Republican support from Moore in the deeply red state.
Moore's campaign quickly touted Trump's comments on social media and in a fundraising email to supporters that lashed out at Republican leaders as much as it did Jones.
"President Trump calls them like he sees them. And, he's got my opponents in DC scrambling," Moore wrote in a fundraising email.
The Republican candidate has made limited public appearances since the allegations surfaced earlier this month. Jones, speaking to reporters in Birmingham, shrugged off Trump's criticisms, saying he would not be a partisan voter. He said Alabamians are focused on issues such as the economy, education and health care.
"My record speaks for itself ... I think I am very strong on the issues that the people of Alabama care for," Jones said.
Jones, a former federal prosecutor, said he would be an independent voice in the US Senate, similarly to his political mentor, the late US Sen Howell Heflin, who represented the state for nearly 20 years.
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