President Trump today issued a highly public warning to the former Alabama judge Roy Moore not to make a second run for Senate, or else risk losing a seat in a solidly Republican state again.
Moore, who was defeated in a 2017 special election after being accused of pursuing relationships with teenage girls while in his 30s, has hinted in recent weeks that he would make another try at the Senate seat.
He lost narrowly in deeply conservative Alabama to Doug Jones, a Democrat considered his party’s most vulnerable Senate incumbent up for re-election in 2020.
If the race were a rematch, Moore would provide Democrats a national target to accuse Republicans of being too far to the right, in a state that recently banned abortion in nearly all cases, without exceptions for rape and incest.
Trump, who endorsed Moore late in the 2017 race, and who has often used Twitter to weigh in on Republican primary fights, said today on Twitter:
Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama. This time it will be for Six Years, not just Two. I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win. But he didn’t, and probably won’t…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2019
…If Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost, including our Pro-Life victories. Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating….Judges and Supreme Court Justices!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2019
Actor Chris Evans was among the first on Twitter to call out Trump for saying he had “nothing against” Moore.
Wait a minute…You have ‘nothing’ against Roy Moore? Nothing???? https://t.co/7GZyiJrEX8
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) May 29, 2019
Six women have accused Moore of sexual assault and harassment.
Leigh Corfman says she was 14 years old at the time of her sexual encounter with Moore, who was then a 32-year-old assistant district attorney in Alabama.
Two women accused him of assault or molestation, accusations that he has vehemently denied.
Jones defeated Moore in 2017 by 22,000 votes out of 1.3 million cast in a special election to fill the seat previously held by Jeff Sessions, who became Trump’s attorney general.
Republicans control the Senate 53-47 and view defeating Jones as a top priority.
Jones, 65, is considered the most endangered Democratic incumbent facing re-election in 2020, a year when several GOP senators are vulnerable and control of the chamber will be at stake.
Moore said he would make a decision about entering the race this month.
“There’s polls showing I do have a chance,’’ he said. “Everything seems to be very favorable.’’
On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr., a key campaign surrogate for his father, went after Moore more personally, saying on Twitter:
You mean like last time? You’re literally the only candidate who could lose a GOP seat in pro-Trump, pro-USA ALABAMA. Running for office should never become a business model. If you actually care about #MAGA more than your own ego, it’s time to ride off into the sunset, Judge. https://t.co/Twg9isFRkY
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 28, 2019
Moore refused to take on the Trump’s directly in his response:
Ever wonder why the mere mention of my name scares the “hell” out of the Washington DC establishment, liberals, and LGBT?
Like Pres Trump I want to see America great again, but that is a job only God can do!— Judge Roy Moore (@RealJudgeMoore) May 29, 2019