Photo courtesy of Roy Moore, Twitter
The company one keeps and the people someone endorses are things very important to the life of a politician. Most politicians recognize this and are somewhat willing to sacrifice whatever political agenda they are pursuing in the name of basic morality.
However, President Donald Trump has never been much of a traditional politician, has he?
Recently, Trump officially endorsed Roy Moore, a politician from Alabama who currently faces convincing allegations of sexual misconduct from at least five different women, for a role in the Senate. That is more than a little troubling.
For those not in the know, the charges include sexual assault and unwanted sexual advances. One of the accusers, Leigh Corfman, claims to have been 14 when he first approached her and alleges that he began asking her dates once she had turned 16. Moore would have been in his early 30s around this time.
So why would Trump not take this incident more seriously? Why wouldn’t he immediately call for Moore to drop out of the race? Well, simply put, he didn't want to lose a seat in the Senate – which is exactly what happened Tuesday night when Democrat Doug Jones was elected over Moore.
But back to Trump.
It wasn't only Democrats claiming politics are behind Trump's endorsement, but those on the right seem to think so as well. Conservative figure Ben Shapiro has come out on his podcast “The Ben Shapiro Show” to say he does believe the endorsement is about maintaining power in the Senate, and not a matter of believing Moore is innocent.
To Trump and those defending his decision, the only thing worse than having a potential sexual predator in the Senate, is a Democrat. Once again, more than a little troubling.
Moore professed his innocence for weeks before Tuesday's election, going so far as to say he didn't even know the women making the claims. However, some of the women in question have provided evidence to back up their claims. Beverly Young Nelson provided a yearbook of hers which Roy Moore had signed, for example.
It’s plain to see Trump doesn’t care about what actually happened. All he cared about was holding onto a Senate seat. And he knows his conservative base will support him no matter what he says or does.
On some level, everyone in politics has a bias that they are willing to let blind themselves. They do this so that they can feel good about themselves while still remaining in power, regardless of the disgusting message this sends to the American people.
By endorsing Moore, Trump has made a clear message to sexual assault victims: your experiences don’t matter as much as a valuable politician’s career.
ctriana@ramapo.edu
