US President Donald Trump voiced support for Roy Moore, the Alabama Republican Senate candidate dogged by accusations of sexual misconduct, during a rally that foreshadowed themes for next year’s midterm elections.
Trump, speaking to a stadium of supporters in Pensacola, Florida, near the Alabama state line, touted his work to quit or renegotiate trade deals and called on Democrats to support a measure that would avert a government shutdown.
Trump highlighted familiar themes from his political rallies: Criticism of violence in Chicago, which he suggested was less safe than Afghanistan, as well as his commitment to improving US border security and to crack down on immigration.
But he made a point of using the rally to note his desire to get Moore elected.
“Get out and vote for Roy Moore,” Trump said ahead of Tuesday’s election.
The race in the heavily Republican state heated up last month with accusations that Moore sexually assaulted or behaved inappropriately with several women when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.
Moore, a former state judge, denies the allegations, and Trump formally endorsed him on Monday.
“We cannot afford — this country, the future of this country — cannot afford to lose a seat in the very, very close United States Senate,” Trump said.
Republicans hold a slim 52-48 majority in the Senate.
Trump said Moore’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, is a “total puppet” of Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.
“He will never, ever vote for us. We need somebody in that Senate seat who will vote for our Make America Great Again agenda,” Trump added.
Moore’s race against Jones, a former attorney, has come amid an array of allegations of sexual misconduct that have brought down men in media, politics, and entertainment.
US Senator Al Franken said on Thursday he would resign in the coming weeks after allegations of sexual misconduct. Franken said it was ironic that he was leaving while Moore campaigned with backing of his party and Trump, who last year faced allegations of sexual misconduct, remained in the Oval Office.
Trump’s support for Moore puts him at odds with other lawmakers in the Republican Party, particularly Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
In his speech, Trump did not directly address the sexual harassment allegations against Moore, but he mocked the fact that one of Moore’s accusers acknowledged on Friday that part of an inscription that she had said Moore had written in her high school yearbook was in fact penned by her.
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