HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — President Donald Trump implored his supporters Friday to get behind an establishment-backed incumbent in a Republican runoff race in Alabama, arguing that Sen. Luther Strange will “drain the swamp” and doesn’t know the Senate Majority Leader “at all.”
Acknowledging he was putting his own political capital on the line, the president insisted to thousands of cheering fans in Huntsville, Ala., that backing Strange — who was appointed in February to temporarily fill the seat that opened up when Jeff Sessions became attorney general — would help further the Trump agenda.
“We can only win the fights and we can only drain the swamp if we have smart, tough, tenacious leaders who know who they are and know how to deliver,” Trump said. “Luther Strange is our man.”
Despite Trump’s endorsement and heavy spending by a super political action committee tied to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Strange remains locked in a tight race against former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, a jurist known for opposing gay marriage and pushing unsuccessfully for the public display of the Ten Commandments. The runoff vote will be held Tuesday.
Trump said Strange had wrongly been branded an establishment insider, saying people have unfairly claimed Strange is “friendly with Mitch.” Trump called that a “bum rap.”
He also praised Strange for agreeing to back Republican health care legislation with no strings attached, saying, “That’s the coolest thing that’s happened to me in six months.”
Trump noted the Alabama race was close, but said he appreciated Strange’s support during the push to overhaul President Barack Obama’s health care law. Said Trump, “We have to be loyal in life.”
And Trump insisted he was taking a political risk, saying if Strange loses, “they’re going to go after me.”
Moore is favored by many of Trump’s supporters and allies, including former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who headlined a rally for Moore Thursday night.
Moore also appears to have the support of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson — though a confidant insisted his praise wasn’t an endorsement.
In a statement released by Moore’s campaign, Carson called the former judge a “fine man of proven character and integrity” who “reflects the Judeo-Christian values that were so important to the establishment of our country.”
But Armstrong Williams insisted the praise was “not an endorsement” and said Carson was “just showing support for his friend.”
The president acknowledged he had friends who supported Moore — Including some who worked for Trump, though he joked, “They may not have a job by Monday.”
Trump argued Moore will have a harder time winning the general election against Democrat Doug Jones, but still promised to campaign “like hell” for Moore if he wins.
