The outcome in the closely watched Senate race dealt a humbling blow to President Trump and other party leaders days after the president pleaded with voters in the state to back Mr. StrangeFrom yesterday:
...
Mr. Moore’s incendiary rhetoric will also oblige others in the party to answer for his comments, perhaps for years to come, at a time when many Republicans would just as soon move on from the debate over gay rights
...
Mr. Moore, 70, has proved himself to be a political survivor since he first rose to prominence. He has been effectively removed from the State Supreme Court twice — the first time in 2003 over a statue of the Ten Commandments in the courthouse, and the second over same-sex marriage licenses
Trump phones 'Rick & Bubba,' calls Roy Moore 'Ray' as he stumps for StrangeHe's deleted his tweets supporting Strange.
...
When host Rick Burgess clarified that Moore's first name was Roy and not Ray, Trump came back with why it's "not a good sign" when the president doesn't know your name.
"I don't know that much about Roy Moore," Trump said, using the correct first name. "Roy Moore is going to have a very hard time getting elected against the Democrat. Against Luther, they won't even fight."
Also:
Trump, who sometimes talks about staffing the government like running a television show, sees the hulking, 6-foot-9 senator as out of central casting. The president likes that Strange “can fill a room, literally and figuratively,” one White House official said, and admiringly calls him “Big Luther.” Their phone calls sometimes stretch for more than an hour.