Report: Bannon Breaks With Trump, Backs Roy Moore In Alabama Run-off

White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon listens at right as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting on cyber security in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Freshly removed from the White House, former chief strategist Steve Bannon is breaking with the President and supporting former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore in the upcoming primary run-off election, Politico reported.

President Donald Trump has been vocal about his support for Moore’s opponent Sen. Luther Stranger (R-AL), who was appointed to take Attorney General Jeff Session’s seat when he joined the administration.

The President tweeted his endorsement of Strange multiple times before the August 15 primary and even recorded a robocall for the senator ahead of the election. Strange also has the support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

But Bannon — who left the White House more than a week ago and has rejoined the conservative website Breitbart News — said he wanted to rally conservatives to back Moore, according to Politico sources who attended a recent, secret Conservative Action Project meeting.

Moore is a favorite among evangelicals. He was ousted as state chief justice in 2000 for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama judicial building.

He ran for election again in 2012, but was suspended in 2016 for directing judges not to issue same sex marriage licenses.

Since no candidate received at least half the vote in the Aug. 15 primary the state will hold a Sept. 26 runoff election. In the first primary, Moore finished with 39 percent of the vote and Strange received 33 percent.

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  1. President Donald Trump has been vocal about his support for Moore’s opponent Sen. Luther Stranger (R-AL), who was appointed to take Attorney General Jeff Session’s seat when he joined the administration.

    If Roy Moore polls 10 points ahead of Strange two weeks before the election Trump will announce he's really been for Moore all along.
  2. You’re right: Trump will without hesitation drop Strange for Trump for polls (and all the right-wing christianists who have his ear).

  3. Run of the mill batshit crazy Vs Christian Taliban
    Should prove to be interesting.
    Especially if Moore wins.
    Watching those Mainstream republicans twitch as they are forced to eat the shit sandwich that is Roy Moore

  4. Avatar for sanni sanni says:

    Such a brave ‘warrior’, Bannon is (not). Pick a stand different than Trump - to stage a ‘show down’ of who is more influential with the base - but pick the battle by picking the likely winner - which would show no strength per a battle of influence with Trump, but would hand Trump a defeat and (guessing he hopes) a humiliation. But as said above, Trump which just claim he was rooting for Moore all along.

    @sickneffintired The 8 yr partial to now full embrace of the Tea Party as a means to ‘stick it to the Black Pres.’ per GOP power - does seem to take its full impact between Trump and then Moore in the senate. There is a dose of Nelson’s HaHa at the cynical mainstream republicans. Then that fades and we are stuck with the results. ugh.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

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