Former Alabama Supreme Court justice and failed Republican senatorial candidate Roy Moore has been talking recently about running for office once again in a 2020 rematch against Democrat Sen. Doug Jones, to whom he lost in a 2017 special election.
But Moore’s plan just had cold water poured over it by the president’s eldest son as well as Donald Trump himself, who both cited the need for a stronger candidate more likely to wrest the Alabama Senate seat from Democrat hands.
Trump Jr. fires first volley
In response to remarks from a Republican rival suggesting he would lose again, Moore stated confidently in a pair of tweets on Tuesday that he would win the seat if he ran against Jones once more.
Donald Trump, Jr. was the first to reply to Moore’s assertion, and asked sarcastically, “You mean like last time?”
“You’re literally the only candidate who could lose a GOP seat in pro-Trump, pro-USA ALABAMA. Running for office should never become a business model. If you actually care about #MAGA more than your own ego, it’s time to ride off into the sunset, Judge,” Trump Jr. tweeted.
Moore’s 2017 candidacy was irreparably harmed when decades-old allegations of sexual impropriety with women and young girls surfaced, just as the #MeToo movement was rising to international prominence.
Father and son agree
President Trump himself weighed in on the matter Wednesday morning with a two-part tweet of his own which explained why, even though he held no personal animus toward Moore, he nevertheless couldn’t support the idea of his running for the Senate seat in Alabama again.
Trump tweeted, “Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama. This time it will be for Six Years, not just Two. I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win. But he didn’t, and probably won’t.”
“If Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost, including our Pro-Life victories. Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating … Judges and Supreme Court Justices!” Trump added.
The Washington Examinernoted that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has made it abundantly clear that its stance for Alabama headed into 2020 is “ABRM: anyone but Roy Moore.”
NRSC executive director Kevin McLaughlin went further, adding, “The only thing Doug Jones and I agree on is that his only prayer for electoral success in 2020 is a rematch with Roy Moore.”
Roy Moore may want to take a second bite at the apple that is the Alabama Senate seat, but the national Republican Party and even the president himself have made it clear in no uncertain terms that they can’t and won’t support such an effort, as the need for an assured victory is simply too great.