Moore gets boost from Bannon in final days of campaign

Former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon on Tuesday hit the campaign trail for Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, blasting the GOP establishment and vouching for the embattled candidate one week before election day.

“This election’s going to boil down to something very simple. Do you support the program of Donald J. Trump that Judge Moore supports? Or do the good folks in Alabama support the program of Hillary Clinton, already rejected on Nov. 8, 2016, that Doug Jones represents?” Bannon asked the audience in Fairhope, Ala., referring to Moore’s Democratic opponent.

The race to fill the Senate seat once held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions has drawn significant national interest, particularly following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against Moore. Moore has received a boost in recent days, however, as President Trump issued a full endorsement, and Bannon made an appearance to reiterate his support.

{mosads}Bannon previously campaigned for Moore in Alabama prior to a primary runoff against incumbent Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.). On Tuesday, he spoke for about 30 minutes, tearing into Republican lawmakers such as Mitt Romney, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), each of whom have called for Moore to drop out.

Bannon, who left the White House in August, framed next week’s vote as a referendum on President Trump, saying “the whole nation” will be watching.

Early in his speech, Bannon noted the number of media outlets in attendance, referring to them and establishment lawmakers as the “opposition party.”

A few protesters interjected throughout the night, as they have at previous Moore events. As one individual shouted “no Moore,” Bannon asked “the CNN producer in the back” to quiet down.

After another interrupted, Moore suggested members of “Soros’s army” were infiltrating the state, referring to billionaire Democratic donor George Soros.

Moore has in recent weeks been under pressure from numerous Republican lawmakers to withdraw from the race.

He is facing allegations about his conduct decades ago, when he was in his 30s, including an accusation by one woman who said Moore initiated a sexual encounter with her when she was 14, and another who said Moore sexually assaulted her when she was 16. Other women have said Moore made advances on them when they were teenagers.

Moore has denied the allegations. He and Bannon largely avoided discussing them Tuesday, but Moore said the campaign had featured “a lot of fake news” and “diversions.”

Trump on Monday fully endorsed Moore after previously sticking to criticizing Jones and downplaying the allegations against Moore. Trump will hold a rally on Friday in Pensacola, Fla., about 20 miles from the Florida-Alabama border.

The Republican National Committee followed Trump’s endorsement by reinstating its support for Moore after initially cutting ties with the candidate.

Moore on Tuesday said he’s looking forward to bringing “Alabama values” to Washington if elected.

“This Senate race is the only Senate race going. It’s the first Senate race since Donald Trump was elected, and it means something special. It means that we’re gong to see if the people of Alabama will support the president, and support his agenda in Washington by electing somebody that’s not part of the establishment there,” Moore said. 

“I think on Dec. 12,” he added, “you’ll see an election that the world won’t forget.”