
Trump may want Roy Moore in the Senate. But nearly two-thirds of Americans, and one-third of Republicans, do not.

After weeks of evasion and mixed messages on his support for accused serial child molester Roy Moore for Jeff Sessions’s Alabama Senate seat, Donald Trump finally came out strongly in favor of him on Tuesday.

Trump dismissed the multiple allegations against Moore, insisting "he denies it" and saying, "We don’t need a liberal person in there."

Trump may believe — as do Alabama Republicans like Gov. Kay Ivey and Rep. Mo Brooks — that he is acting in the best interests of his party. He may also fear he cannot forcefully condemn Moore without having to confront his own accusers.


But by backing Moore, Trump is ignoring the will of the American people, as a new poll from Quinnipiac University clearly demonstrates:

American voters say 60 - 28 percent that if Roy Moore is elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama, the U.S. Senate should vote to expel him. Republicans say 49 - 33 percent that Moore should not be expelled. Every other listed party, gender, education, age and racial group says expel him.

Expulsion from the Senate is an extremely rare tactic, last used in 1862, to remove duly elected senators from office for extreme misconduct like bribery or treason. It requires a two-thirds majority vote of the rest of the Senate. Some Senate Republicans, like National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Cory Gardner, have floated this idea.

The Quinnipiac poll goes on to say that if multiple women have made sexual misconduct allegations against a candidate, 62 percent "definitely would not vote for that candidate, while 27 percent say they would consider voting for the candidate."

If nearly two-thirds of the American people, and one-third of Republicans, support forcibly removing Moore from office in the event that he wins, Trump should consider whether he has backed the wrong horse.

But the American people clearly do not expect Trump to do the right thing in the first place. The poll also finds, by a margin of 59 to 34, that voters believe Trump "does not respect women as much as men."

It is high time that Trump heeded the will of the people. He was elected to serve all of America, not a subset, and pedophilia is not a political issue. This is the most basic test of right and wrong imaginable — and he is flunking.