Kellyanne Conway suggested Monday that Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore’s potential to help pass the GOP’s tax bill outweighs the mounting child molestation accusations against him ― a stance that represents a major shift from comments she made last week on the matter.
“Whatever the facts end up being, the premise, of course, the principle, the incontrovertible principle, is that there is no Senate seat worth more than a child,” the White House counselor told “Fox & Friends” on Thursday in response to allegations that Moore sexually molested teen girls when he was in his 30s.
But on Monday, Conway seemed all but ready to throw Moore’s accusers under the bus in exchange for the candidate’s potential to help pass the GOP’s tax bill.
“So vote Roy Moore?” asked “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade after Conway bashed Doug Jones, Moore’s Democratic opponent in the race.
“I’m telling you that we want the votes in the Senate to get this tax bill through,” Conway responded.
Conway also suggested that “the media” isn’t truly concerned about sexual abuse allegations, noting that Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) “still has his job” after being accused last week of forcibly kissing and groping a woman in 2006. Franken issued an apology.
Moore has denied all allegations that he sexually harassed or assaulted teenage girls when he was in his 30s. The Republican National Committee and high-ranking GOP lawmakers have ditched their support for him, but Moore has refused to drop out of the race.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) have called on Moore to drop out of the race. President Donald Trump has remained noticeably silent on the matter, despite slamming Franken just hours after news broke of sexual assault allegations.
Conway hesitated on Monday when the Fox hosts pointed out Moore’s rapid decline in support, specifically from women.
“Right,” Conway said. “And you know what? I just want everybody to know Doug Jones ― nobody ever says his name and pretends he is some kind of conservative Democrat in Alabama. And he’s not.”