Roy Moore became increasingly defiant throughout the course of the day on Wednesday, after President Trump posted a tweet warning him he shouldn’t run for Senate in Alabama.
During an interview with the Associated Press published early afternoon Wednesday, Moore offered that Trump was just being pressured by the media, Democrats and the establishment in Washington, D.C. Later Wednesday evening, Politico characterized Moore’s attitude as defiant.
“The president doesn’t control who votes for the United States Senate in Alabama,” Moore told Politico. “People in Alabama are smarter than that. They elect the senator from Alabama, not from Washington, D.C.”
Moore claimed to Politico that Republicans in his state are worried he still has a strong base of support in the state.
“They know I’ll win,” he said. “That’s why they’re upset.”
On Wednesday Trump warned of the dire consequences of a Democratic win in Alabama and flatly stated that Moore doesn’t have the ability to win in the state. The cold shoulder from the President is a shift for Moore, who, despite multiple allegations that he molested teenagers in his 30s, still enjoyed the support of the president during his first senate bid in 2017.
Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) beat Moore and became the first Democratic senator to represent the state in 25 years.
