Welcome to WHAT NOW, a morning round-up of the news/fresh horrors that await you today.
After maintaining just a thread of distance—and plausible deniability—from Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, President Donald Trump went all-in on Monday and explicitly endorsed the accused child predator.
Just eight days before the special election in the state, with polls showing a tight race between Moore and Democrat Doug Jones, Trump tweeted:
A follow-up tweet didn’t mention Moore again by name but clearly stated his opinion about his opponent, “Pelosi/Schumer Liberal Puppet Jones.”
Previously, Trump stopped short of an all-out endorsement of Moore, tweeting only about what a “disaster” Moore’s challenger would be if elected.
Things on the Moore front have quieted down a bit since The Washington Post first published chilling allegations from a woman who said Moore initiated sexual contact with her when she was 14 and he was a district attorney in his 30s. (Subsequent reporting also revealed that a woman said Moore sexually assaulted her when she was 16, and that the former two-time Alabama Supreme Court justice was so well known for harassing underage women that he was banned from the local mall.)
So now, with all eyes on Congress scrambling to pass a spending bill by Friday to avoid avoid a government shutdown, Trump finally found his opening to go big on Moore.
Moore hailed the news in a tweet of his own.
WHAT ELSE?
- The president also still hates Mitt Romney, and is reportedly lobbying Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah to run for an eighth term to block Romney from mounting a run.
- Billy Bush needs a job!!!
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