Steve Bannon Says He Actually Will Campaign For Roy Moore In Alabama

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon will head to Alabama next week to campaign for the embattled Senate Republican candidate Roy Moore, he told CNN Tuesday.

“I look forward to standing with Judge Moore and all of the Alabama deplorables in the fight to elect him to the United States Senate and send shockwaves to the political and media elites,” Bannon told CNN.

Bannon plans to speak at a rally next week, which will kick off the final days of campaigning for Moore and his opponent Democrat Doug Jones before the election Dec. 12. Bannon’s comments to CNN came just hours after the Associated Press reported that Bannon would not stump for Moore before the election. The AP spoke with two Bannon associates at the time.

Bannon has not campaigned for Moore since before the Republican primary run-off election between Moore and incumbent Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL). The silence from Bannon was particularly telling given that multiple women have come forward since the beginning of November accusing Moore of sexual misconduct.

The allegations range from Moore pursuing relationships or making inappropriate sexual advances toward the women when they were teenagers and Moore was in his 30s. Moore has flatly denied all the allegations and chalked the whole scandal up to a political attack from the media, Democrats and the Republican establishment.

Bannon’s backing of Moore over Strange ignited the former White House strategist’s “war” on the Republican establishment. After Moore’s primary victory, Bannon vowed to back the more conservative challengers of every Republican senator up for reelection besides Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).