“We don’t need a liberal person in there, a Democrat,” President Trump said about Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore’s race. Moore’s opponent is former federal prosecutor Doug Jones. “I’ve looked at his record,” Trump added. “It’s terrible on crime. It’s terrible on the border. It’s terrible on military.” Trump’s right. Jones is also rabidly pro-abortion and supports the radical transgender agenda. In other words, he doesn’t reflect Alabama. But, if the allegations against Moore are true, does Moore represent Alabama?

Trump’s remarks were his first comments on the race since allegations of Moore’s sexual misconduct emerged nearly two weeks ago. Well, unless you count Press Secretary Sarah Sanders saying, “If these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside.” Moore’s subsequent lame defense and added accusations have hurt him badly, and Jones is leading in some polls. Now Trump says, “Roy Moore denies it. That’s all I can say. He denies it. And by the way, he totally denies it.” Perhaps Trump’s effective endorsement will help Moore.

By the way, that’s an endorsement — or at least a shrug and a diversion — that completely disregards the comments of one of his most trusted advisers, daughter Ivanka. She declared, “There’s a special place in hell for people who prey on children.”

We think Hot Air’s Allahpundit has the right take on the situation: “Moore won’t quit and the state GOP won’t remove him as nominee. Alabama Republicans are hanging with him for the most part but he’s lost enough of them to give Jones a credible chance of taking the seat. It’s now a binary choice, just as it was last November. And given a binary choice, the tribe always sides with its own, no matter what its representative is accused of. Moore calculated that as long as he stands firm, no matter how bad the scandal gets, the belief that anything is better than a Democrat will keep most of the party with him. He was right.”

Or at least we’re going to find out on Dec. 12.

Update, Nov. 27: The White House says Trump will not campaign for Moore.