WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump kept resolutely quiet and out of the fight Wednesday as national Republicans called ever more intensely for Roy Moore to abandon his Alabama campaign for the U.S. Senate and party officials debated a list of options that none of them liked.
Trump, who withstood allegations of sexual assault weeks before his own election, repeatedly ducked questions about the fate of the GOP candidate ignoring questions as to whether he would join top congressional leaders in urging Moore to step aside. With Moore's would-be colleagues threatening to expel him should he win and the Republican National Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee pulling their support, Trump was seen as the best hope for pushing a fellow political rebel from the race.
Instead, Moore, twice removed from his post as state Supreme Court chief justice, confronted Republicans with two damaging potential election outcomes. A victory would saddle GOP senators with a colleague accused of abusing and harassing teenagers, a troubling liability heading into next year's congressional elections, while an upset victory by Democrat Doug Jones would slice the already narrow GOP Senate majority to an unwieldy 51-49.
The party's fraught dilemma is complicated further by the anti-establishment forces that propelled Trump to the White House and Moore to the nomination. Alabama Republicans expressed reluctance to block Moore and enrage his legions of loyal conservative supporters. State GOP leaders highlighted state party rules that could allow them to crack down on Alabama officials who support anyone other than Moore, who is facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
The president backed Moore's unsuccessful rival, Sen. Luther Strange, in the Republican primary. Moore has the backing of Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon. And Bannon's conservative news site, Breitbart, has led the charge in trying to discredit the allegations against Moore. A person close to Bannon said he was still backing Moore's candidacy.
Behind the scenes, aides described Trump as vexed by the Moore issue. He might make an uncomfortable Moore critic: The allegations against the bombastic former judge echo Trump's own political concerns, when he was accused weeks before the 2016 election of more than a dozen instances of sexual harassment. National Republicans, including many of the same now abandoning Moore, withdrew their endorsements or halted their efforts on Trump's behalf at the time.
GOP officials cautioned the actions of Washington Republicans, including the president, were unlikely to affect Moore's decision-making - and any moves against him could backfire. One person familiar with the president's thinking said Trump has been slow to call for Moore to exit the race in part because he risked embarrassment if, as expected, Moore defied him. Officials said the Trump White House signed off on the RNC's decision to cut ties with Moore.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Trump had been involved in dealing with the Moore situation "in great detail" during his Asia trip. McConnell, in all-out political warfare with Moore, said he spoke about Moore to the president, Vice President Mike Pence and White House chief of staff John Kelly, with more conversations planned.
"He's obviously not fit to be in the United States Senate, and we've looked at all the options to try to prevent that from happening," said McConnell, who has encouraged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to mount a write-in campaign. "This close to election, it's a complicated matter."