If Republicans believe Roy Mooreâs accusers why not Trumpâs?
Donald Trump  2016 Republican presidential nominee  pauses while speaking during a campaign rally at the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Oct. 30  2016. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg News)
Specifically  if you believe the women accusing Roy Moore  the Republican Senate candidate in Alabama  why did you ignore the women who accused  presidential candidate Donald Trump ? If youâre troubled by Mooreâs alleged behavior  why were you so nonchalant about Trumpâs?
Since the Harvey Weinstein story broke almost six weeks ago  the matter of  Trump âs conduct has been festering beneath the surface of most public discussion. Indeed  Trumpâs reported behavior is more like that of Weinstein than Moore. Both businessmen were accused of using their power in the marketplace to obtain â or coerce  especially in Weinsteinâs case â sexual favors.
And in Trumpâs case? Much the same. Consider the account of Kristin Anderson  who told The Post that  at a Manhattan nightclub in the early 1990s   Trump  reached under  her  skirt and touched  her  vagina through  her  underwear â much as  Trump  described behaving in the âAccess Hollywoodâ tape.
Consider the account of former People magazine writer Natasha Stoynoff  who described how  while on a 2005 reporting trip to Mar-a-Lago to interview  Trump  and  his  then-pregnant wife   Trump  âshut the door behind us . . . and within seconds  he  was pushing me against the wall and forcing  his  tongue down my throat.â
Trumpâs response  as characteristic as it was unconvincing  was the same as Mooreâs: total denial. âEvery woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign â  he  said in October 2016. âTotal fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.â
The Moore situation backs Republicans  and the  Trump  White House  into an even more uncomfortable corner.
Of course the most credible explanation is both obvious and unspeakable in public: Republicans can afford to throw Moore under the bus  as difficult as it would be to narrow their already-thin Senate majority. They could not risk losing the presidency  even if it meant electing  Trump .
If Republicans as a whole are in a difficult spot  imagine the White House pickle. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)  with others in tow  has sided with Mooreâs accusers. Having deployed the if-then approach with Moore â if he behaved as alleged  then he should withdraw â what does  Trump  now say? âIâm unconvinced  even if McConnell & Co. believe themâ? Or  âOkay  Iâm convinced  too â in which case the question arises: And so what about the women who accused you?
One last point  for the what-about-ists out there. Yes  there are serious questions about Bill Clintonâs behavior with women. I said they were fair game back in the campaign  when he was deployed as a chief surrogate for Hillary Clinton and she was complaining about  Trump âs âpenchant for sexism.â
But now  give  it  a rest. Bill Clinton is not the president. Hillary Clinton is not the president.  Trump  is. Heâs the one whose conduct  present and past  remains relevant  and for which he and his party should finally be held to account.
[TGT] pauses while speaking during a campaign rally at the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Oct. 30  2016. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg News)
Specifically  if you believe the women accusing Roy Moore  the Republican Senate candidate in Alabama  why did you ignore the women who accused  presidential candidate Donald Trump ? If youâre troubled by Mooreâs alleged behavior  why were you so nonchalant about Trumpâs?
Since the Harvey Weinstein story broke almost six weeks ago  the matter of   [TGT]  âs conduct has been festering beneath the surface of most public discussion. Indeed  Trumpâs reported behavior is more like that of Weinstein than Moore. Both businessmen were accused of using their power in the marketplace to obtain â or coerce  especially in Weinsteinâs case â sexual favors.
And in Trumpâs case? Much the same. Consider the account of Kristin Anderson  who told The Post that  at a Manhattan nightclub in the early 1990s    [TGT]   reached under  her  skirt and touched  her  vagina through  her  underwear â much as   [TGT]   described behaving in the âAccess Hollywoodâ tape.
Consider the account of former People magazine writer Natasha Stoynoff  who described how  while on a 2005 reporting trip to Mar-a-Lago to interview  Trump  and  his  then-pregnant wife   Trump  âshut the door behind us . . . and within seconds  he  was pushing me against the wall and forcing  his  tongue down my throat.â
Trumpâs response  as characteristic as it was unconvincing  was the same as Mooreâs: total denial. âEvery woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign â  he  said in October 2016. âTotal fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.â
The Moore situation backs Republicans  and the  Trump  White House  into an even more uncomfortable corner.
Of course the most credible explanation is both obvious and unspeakable in public: Republicans can afford to throw Moore under the bus  as difficult as it would be to narrow their already-thin Senate majority. They could not risk losing the presidency  even if it meant electing  Trump .
If Republicans as a whole are in a difficult spot  imagine the White House pickle. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)  with others in tow  has sided with Mooreâs accusers. Having deployed the if-then approach with Moore â if he behaved as alleged  then he should withdraw â what does  Trump  now say? âIâm unconvinced  even if McConnell & Co. believe themâ? Or  âOkay  Iâm convinced  too â in which case the question arises: And so what about the women who accused you?
One last point  for the what-about-ists out there. Yes  there are serious questions about Bill Clintonâs behavior with women. I said they were fair game back in the campaign  when he was deployed as a chief surrogate for Hillary Clinton and she was complaining about  Trump âs âpenchant for sexism.â
But now  give  it  a rest. Bill Clinton is not the president. Hillary Clinton is not the president.  Trump  is. Heâs the one whose conduct  present and past  remains relevant  and for which he and his party should finally be held to account.