WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump responded to sexual misconduct allegations against Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) on Thursday, referring to a photo that surfaced from 2006 in which Franken smiles for the camera as he appears to grope a sleeping news anchor’s breasts.
But as of Thursday, he has yet to comment on the mounting misconduct accusations against Alabama Senate GOP nominee Roy Moore, a week after The Washington Post reported the first allegations involving Moore, then in his 30s, targeting girls as young as 14.
Republicans, especially right-wing media outlets, seized on the deluge of allegations last month against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, a prominent Democratic campaign donor. They have continually brought up sexual misconduct involving former President Bill Clinton, often when discussing former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
But Republicans have been less willing to denounce such behavior when it involves people on their end of the political spectrum, including Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, former Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, Moore and even Trump himself.
According to polling from HuffPost/YouGov conducted last month, 84 percent of Trump voters believe the allegations against Bill Clinton, and 74 percent believe those against Weinstein. Yet only 18 percent think those against O’Reilly are credible. Only 6 percent believe them about Trump.
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