Trump makes the case for fellow sexual predator

Trump Endorses Accused Child Molester Moore Because He Wants Vote for Tax Cuts

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams

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With less than two weeks left until the special election for Alabama's vacant Senate seat, President Donald Trump took to Twitter Monday morning to offer a full-throated endorsement of GOP nominee and accused child molester Roy Moore, dismissing out of hand numerous accusations of sexual misconduct because Republicans "need his vote" to deliver massive tax cuts to the rich.

Trump's endorsement of Moore comes just days after GOP senators rammed through a "monstrosity" of a tax bill that was immediately characterized by progressive lawmakers and activists as open class warfare waged by congressional Republicans on behalf of corporate lobbyists and the ultra-wealthy.

"Trump endorses the lawless bigot and alleged teen-targeting sexual predator because he'll cut taxes bigly on the rich and corporations while telling you undocumented immigrants are your real problem. Sounds like the perfect expression of Trump populism," concluded the Washington Post's Greg Sargent in response to the president's tweets.

Riding the high of his dead-of-night tax victory on Saturday, Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appeared to soften his stance on Moore, perhaps a sign that he is coming around to the president's insistence that Republicans need all the votes they can get—even if one of them is coming from a man who has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman when she was 14.

"The people of Alabama are going to decide a week from Tuesday who they want to send to the Senate," McConnell, who has previously called for Moore to step aside, said Sunday in an interview on CBS. "It's really up to them."

As Common Dreams reported last month, Trump appeared to signal that he supports Moore's senate bid during a question-and-answer session with reporters, insisting repeatedly that Moore "totally denies" the numerous accusations against him. 

But Monday represented the first time the president has stated unequivocally that Alabama voters should elect a man credibly accused of sexual assault and harassment.

Recent polls indicate that Moore remains slightly ahead of his Democratic opponent Doug Jones. A CBS poll released Sunday found that 71 percent of Alabama Republicans believe that the accusations against Moore are false.