President Trump called Alabama Senate candidate and accused child molester Roy Moore to double down on his previous endorsement on Monday morning.
“The President had a positive call with Judge Roy Moore during which they discussed the state of the Alabama Senate race and the President endorsed Judge Moore’s campaign,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said in a statement.
That came after Moore’s wife Kayla posted on Facebook that Trump called Moore to offer his “full support.” Moore’s campaign followed up with a statement that Trump had ended the call with by saying “Go get ’em, Roy!”
Trump’s support could help galvanize the GOP base for Moore in a tough Senate race — and the more he does for Moore ahead of the Dec. 12 election, the better Moore’s chances of surviving accusations from nine women of sexual misconduct.
The call occurred not long after Trump endorsed Moore by name in an early Monday morning tweet, the first time the President has explicitly backed Moore’s campaign since nine women came forward to accuse Moore of sexual misconduct.
Democrats refusal to give even one vote for massive Tax Cuts is why we need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama. 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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2017
Trump came out to slam Democrat Doug Jones and indicate he still backed Moore’s campaign shortly before Thanksgiving, after nearly two weeks of silence on Moore as other top Republicans pulled their support.
The White House has said Trump won’t travel to Alabama to help Moore — but he’ll be holding a Friday night political rally in Pensacola, Fla., just over the border, whose media market covers much of southern Alabama. Trump’s team hasn’t ruled out other help like robocalls that could help galvanize the GOP base in the state and help Moore in the race’s final days.
Moore was quick to tout the re-endorsement (Trump had backed Moore immediately after he won the GOP primary).
“I am honored to receive the support and endorsement of President Donald Trump. President Trump knows that the future of his conservative agenda in Congress hinges on this election,”Moore said in a statement. “We had a good conversation over the phone today and are working together towards conservative victory on December 12.”
Recent public and private polls show a close race between Moore and Jones in the heavily Republican state.
