President Donald Trump will not go to Alabama to stump for GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore, a White House official told The Associated Press on Monday , after the president did not rule out the possibility last week while defending Moore against multiple sexual misconduct allegations .
Briefing reporters Monday afternoon, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump “is not planning any trip to Alabama at this time,” citing his full schedule.
Trump told reporters Tuesday that he would “be letting you know next week” whether he would campaign for Moore ahead of the Dec. 12 special election.
Breaking his silence on the nearly 10 women who have accused Moore of sexual misconduct, Trump would not say whether he believed their accusations, only that Moore “totally denies it.”
While Trump has not openly expressed support for Moore, he has all but endorsed him over Democratic opponent Doug Jones and implicitly rallied support for Moore. Last week, Trump told reporters that “we don’t need a liberal person in there.”
In a pair of tweets over the weekend , Trump reiterated his attacks against Jones, calling the long-time prosecutor “WEAK on Crime.”
Many Republican senators have called on Moore to step aside from the race. But they have been more reluctant to directly denounce Trump’s implicit support of the candidate .
This article has been updated with comment from Huckabee Sanders.
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