Tim Scott: Trump’s moral authority not compromised by stance on Roy Moore

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) on Sunday said President Trump did not compromise his moral authority by effectively endorsing GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore, who faces allegations of sexual misconduct.

“I don’t think so,” Scott said when asked about it on ABC’s “This Week.”

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“I think the reality of it is that while I have read through as many stories as I could get my hands on, I think the issue in the case is compelling, I have reached the conclusion. I think there are many Americans who disagree with me vehemently. I don’t necessarily understand how, but they do,” he continued.

His remarks come after Trump broke with many GOP senators last week when he indicated that he supported Moore’s bid for the Alabama Senate seat so that his administration could have a better chance to push his agenda in the upper chamber.

“He says it didn’t happen,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “You have to listen to him, also.”

Scott claimed Trump had lost his “moral authority” after the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Trump blamed “both sides” for the violence that left one counterprotester dead and dozens wounded in August.

Multiple women have publicly accused Moore of pursuing them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s, with one woman saying she was 14 years old when Moore initiated a sexual encounter with her.

Another accuser says Moore sexually assaulted her when she was a 16-year-old high school student and he was the district attorney of Etowah County, claiming he groped her and pushed her head toward his crotch as she struggled to escape from his locked car.

Moore has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, while acknowledging he might have dated women in their late teens around that time.

“It is pretty clear to me that the best thing that Roy Moore can do for the country is to move on,” Scott added.

Many Republican lawmakers have called on Moore to pull out of the race.

Moore will face off against Democrat Doug Jones on Dec. 12.