President Donald Trump broke his silence on the reported allegations that Alabama GOP senate candidate Roy Moore initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old when he was in his early 30s.
Media following Trump’s trip to the Pacific Rim reported White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders addressed the issue early Friday on Air Force One. She announced POTUS “believes if allegations are true he will do the right thing and step aside.”
Shortly thereafter the White House issued a statement:
Like most Americans the president believes we cannot allow a mere allegation, in this case one from many years ago, to destroy a person’s life. However, the president also believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside.
WaPo reported allegations Thursday that Moore initiated sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32 and an assistant DA. The woman, who spoke on the record, claimed Moore took her to his house, kissed her, took off her clothes and his own, ran his hand over her body and her hand over his. The legal age of consent in that state is 16.
While Trump walked a tightrope, his former chief strategist Steve Bannon – a Moore supporter – pointed to POTUS’ difficulty. “The Bezos-Amazon-Washington Post,” Bannon reminded everyone, previously had “dropped the dime on Donald Trump” during the campaign. It was WaPo that published the old Access Hollywood tape of then-Celebrity-Apprentice host Trump boasting about being so famous he could grab women “by the p*ssy” with impunity.
