Trump Defends Roy Moore Amid Sexual Assault Allegations: ' He Totally Denies It'
President Trump  is defending Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore  who has been accused by multiple women of sexually assaulting them when they were teenagers and  Moore  was in  his  30s.
"I've looked at  his  record â it's terrible on crime  it's terrible on the border  it's terrible on the military  " Trump  said of  Moore 's Democratic opponent  former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones. Jones is best known for prosecuting KKK members responsible for the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four young black girls  decades after that high-profile crime during the civil rights movement.
When asked about the allegations that  Moore  pursued multiple teenage girls while  he  was in  his  30s and an assistant district attorney in Alabama   Trump  responded that  Moore  "totally denies it" and pointed out that the allegations are from roughly 40 years ago.
 Trump 's argument in favor of  Moore  is similar to one  his  advisers have begun to make this week â a GOP vote  no matter the person  helps  Trump 's agenda and is better than a Democratic vote against tax cuts and other priorities â while still not explicitly saying  "Vote for  Roy Moore ."
But other national GOP leaders haven't been as forgiving.  Moore  has been abandoned by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican National Committee following the accusations. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  R-Ky.  House Speaker Paul Ryan  R-Wis.  and other national Republicans have called on  Moore  to step aside  but the former state Supreme Court chief justice has refused. Some Republicans  including NRSC Chairman Sen. Cory Gardner  R-Colo.  have suggested  Moore  should be expelled from the Senate even if  he  is elected.
 Trump   McConnell and the NRSC backed  Moore 's primary opponent  appointed Sen. Luther Strange  in the GOP primary earlier this year to fill the seat of now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.  Trump  also said Tuesday  he  will announce next week whether  he  will campaign for  Moore   who has been endorsed by  Trump 's former chief strategist  Steve Bannon  as part of  his  "war" against the GOP establishment.
Several polls following the allegations against  Moore  showed  him  dropping as Jones took a lead ahead of the Dec. 12 special election. Even with the allegations against  Moore   Jones still faces an uphill climb in a state that hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate in 25 years and where  Democratic strategists say  he needs independents and more moderate Republicans to cross over to vote for him.
Now Jones is using the words of  Trump  allies â including first daughter Ivanka â in his latest ad.  Ivanka Trump  said last week that  she  had "no reason to doubt" the accounts of the women accusing  Moore  of sexual misconduct and that "there's a special place in hell for people who prey on children." Sessions has also said he has "no reason to doubt" the women.
 Trump  was also accused of sexual assault by multiple women during the 2016 campaign  and  he  has continued to deny those allegations. But  he  has waded into other sexual assault allegations that have come to light recently against Democratic politicians  tweeting criticism of Sen. Al Franken  D-Minn.  last week.
Asked by reporters Tuesday whether Franken should resign   Trump  equivocated but did try to talk about a broader cultural moment of women feeling emboldened to come forward with accusations of various types of sexual misconduct  including sexual harassment and sexual assault â even as he declined to say he believes the women who have made allegations against  Moore .
"Women are very special  " Trump  said. "I think it's a very special time  a lot of things are coming out and I think that's good for our society and I think it's very very good for women and I'm very happy" these things are coming out.
 Moore  has been accused by multiple women who say  he  pursued them romantically as teenagers when  he  was in  his  30s. The first woman to come forward was Leigh Corfman  who told the Washington Post that  Moore  initiated sexual contact with  her  when  she  was 14. Another woman  Gena Richardson  told the Post last week that  Moore  pursued her when she was working at the local mall  called her at her high school to ask her out and then later gave her a "forceful" unwanted kiss.
 Moore 's campaign has sought to discredit the stories of many of these women and held a news conference in Alabama Tuesday just ahead of Trump's impromptu remarks in support of  Moore . Campaign surrogates refused to take questions from the media  however  and  Moore  has not spoken publicly about the allegations since  he  spoke with Fox News host Sean Hannity on  his  radio show  where the Alabama GOP Senate nominee offered conflicting answers as to whether he had dated teen girls back in the late 1970s and early 1980s  when he would have been in his 30s.
[TGT] is defending Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore  who has been accused by multiple women of sexually assaulting them when they were teenagers and  Moore  was in  his  30s.
"I've looked at   [TGT]   record â it's terrible on crime  it's terrible on the border  it's terrible on the military   [TGT] said of  Moore 's Democratic opponent  former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones. Jones is best known for prosecuting KKK members responsible for the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four young black girls  decades after that high-profile crime during the civil rights movement.
When asked about the allegations that  Moore  pursued multiple teenage girls while  he  was in  his  30s and an assistant district attorney in Alabama   Trump  responded that  Moore  "totally denies it" and pointed out that the allegations are from roughly 40 years ago.
  [TGT]  's argument in favor of  Moore  is similar to one  his  advisers have begun to make this week â a GOP vote  no matter the person  helps  Trump 's agenda and is better than a Democratic vote against tax cuts and other priorities â while still not explicitly saying  "Vote for  Roy Moore ."
But other national GOP leaders haven't been as forgiving.  Moore  has been abandoned by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican National Committee following the accusations. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  R-Ky.  House Speaker Paul Ryan  R-Wis.  and other national Republicans have called on  Moore  to step aside  but the former state Supreme Court chief justice has refused. Some Republicans  including NRSC Chairman Sen. Cory Gardner  R-Colo.  have suggested  Moore  should be expelled from the Senate even if  he  is elected.
  [TGT] McConnell and the NRSC backed  Moore 's primary opponent  appointed Sen. Luther Strange  in the GOP primary earlier this year to fill the seat of now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.   [TGT] also said Tuesday   [TGT]   will announce next week whether   [TGT]   will campaign for  Moore   who has been endorsed by  Trump 's former chief strategist  Steve Bannon  as part of  his  "war" against the GOP establishment.
Several polls following the allegations against  Moore  showed  him  dropping as Jones took a lead ahead of the Dec. 12 special election. Even with the allegations against  Moore   Jones still faces an uphill climb in a state that hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate in 25 years and where  Democratic strategists say  he needs independents and more moderate Republicans to cross over to vote for him.
Now Jones is using the words of   [TGT]   allies â including first daughter Ivanka â in  [TGT]  latest ad.   [TGT] said last week that   [TGT]   had "no reason to doubt" the accounts of the women accusing  Moore  of sexual misconduct and that "there's a special place in hell for people who prey on children." Sessions has also said  [TGT]  has "no reason to doubt" the women.
  [TGT] was also accused of sexual assault by multiple women during the 2016 campaign  and   [TGT]   has continued to deny those allegations. But   [TGT]   has waded into other sexual assault allegations that have come to light recently against Democratic politicians  tweeting criticism of Sen. Al Franken  D-Minn.  last week.
Asked by reporters Tuesday whether Franken should resign    [TGT] equivocated but did try to talk about a broader cultural moment of women feeling emboldened to come forward with accusations of various types of sexual misconduct  including sexual harassment and sexual assault â even as he declined to say he believes the women who have made allegations against  Moore .
"Women are very special   [TGT] said. "I think it's a very special time  a lot of things are coming out and I think that's good for our society and I think it's very very good for women and I'm very happy" these things are coming out.
 Moore  has been accused by multiple women who say  he  pursued them romantically as teenagers when  he  was in  his  30s. The first woman to come forward was Leigh Corfman  who told the Washington Post that  Moore  initiated sexual contact with  her  when  she  was 14. Another woman  Gena Richardson  told the Post last week that  Moore  pursued her when she was working at the local mall  called her at her high school to ask her out and then later gave her a "forceful" unwanted kiss.
 Moore 's campaign has sought to discredit the stories of many of these women and held a news conference in Alabama Tuesday just ahead of Trump's impromptu remarks in support of  Moore . Campaign surrogates refused to take questions from the media  however  and  Moore  has not spoken publicly about the allegations since  he  spoke with Fox News host Sean Hannity on  his  radio show  where the Alabama GOP Senate nominee offered conflicting answers as to whether he had dated teen girls back in the late 1970s and early 1980s  when he would have been in his 30s.