President Donald Trump is indicating his support for Republican Roy Moore over Democrat Doug Jones, despite allegations the embattled Alabama Senate candidate had sexual contact with teenage girls in the 1970s.
"I can tell you one thing for sure we don't need a liberal person, a Democrat, Jones, in that seat," the president told reporters today when asked about Moore. "I've looked at (Jones') record. It's terrible on crime. It's terrible on the border. It's terrible on the military. I can tell you for a fact we do not need somebody that's bad on crime, bad on borders, bad on the military, bad on the Second Amendment."
When asked if a candidate accused of improper sexual contact with a child was better than a Democrat, the president replied "well, (Moore) denies it."
"If you look at what is really going on and all the things that have been going on over the last 48 hours, (Moore) totally denies it. He said it didn't happen. You have to listen to him also," the president said, before adding "you don't need someone who is soft on crime like Jones."
The president didn't answer questions on if he believed the women who said Moore touched them when they were teens and he was in his 30s.
"Roy Moore denies it. That's all I can say," Trump said.
The president said he will announce next week if he plans to come to Alabama to campaign for Moore ahead of the Dec. 12 election. Trump backed Moore's opponent Luther Strange in the GOP primary and as recently as last week said through a White House spokesperson that Moore should step aside if the allegations were true.