Ron Sachs/ZUMA
President Donald Trump’s relatively staid, dignified tweet offering congratulations to Democrat Doug Jones, the winner in Tuesday’s Alabama special election, surprised many people. The message was cordial, even respectful. Some questioned whether the president actually authored the tweet.
But by morning, Trump appeared to return to a more familiar tone, claiming that he knew scandal-plagued Republican Roy Moore could not win “because the deck was stacked against him.” He also highlighted his initial endorsement of Moore’s primary opponent, Luther Strange.
The reason I originally endorsed Luther Strange (and his numbers went up mightily), is that I said Roy Moore will not be able to win the General Election. I was right! Roy worked hard but the deck was stacked against him!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2017
If last night’s election proved anything, it proved that we need to put up GREAT Republican candidates to increase the razor thin margins in both the House and Senate.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2017
In reality, Trump fully endorsed Moore, despite weeks of explosive allegations that Moore had molested and pursued teenage girls. The president repeatedly questioned Moore’s accusers and argued that having an accused child molester was preferable to having a Democrat win a seat held by Republicans for nearly 25 years.
Trump’s attempt to portray Moore’s loss as a kind of personal victory on Wednesday is fitting: He also deleted a slew of tweets expressing his previous support for Strange when he lost to Moore in the September Republican runoff.
