MONTGOMERY, Ala. — President Donald Trump likes to say he could do anything — even shoot a man on Fifth Avenue — and not lose support of his base. But that’s being put to the test in Alabama, where Trump is literally running against against his own base in campaigning for Sen. Luther Strange, the so-called “establishment” candidate for U.S. Senate.

Strange, a former state attorney general who was appointed to the Senate seat left empty when Jeff Sessions was appointed U.S. Attorney General. But just about every national conservative figure — including former White House staffers Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka — is backing former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore — except for Trump. The president’s gone all in on the race for Strange, with plans to appear at a rally for him in the state Friday night.

But hundreds of Moore supporters – many of them wearing red MAGA hats and Trump buttons – gathered at a rally for the candidate on Thursday night after the only debate between the two candidates. There, speakers bashed Strange as the kind of political swamp creature Republicans elected Trump to drive out.

Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and vice-presidential nominee, headlined the rally, which was hosted by the pro-Trump group Great America PAC.

MAGA, without Trump

“The forgotten man and woman in this country, they stood up, and we beat the swamp. But, alas, 10 months later, guys, the swamp, it’s trying to hijack this presidency,” Palin said. “The swamp is trying to steal the victory that we worked so long and hard for — to steal the victory that a lot of us put our reputations on the line for. We voted to put America first, not the political elite that had ignored us for decades.”

“A vote for Judge Moore isn’t a vote against the president.”

And yet the crowd and speakers seemed to give Trump a pass for backing the wrong guy. As Palin explained it, “a vote for Judge Moore isn’t a vote against the president, it is a vote for the people’s agenda that elected the president. It’s for the big, beautiful movement that we’re all a part of.”

That cognitive dissonance was on display all night at the Moore rally, as supporters and speakers slammed Strange.

Alabama State Rep. Ed Henry, who co-chaired Trump’s Alabama campaign but is backing Moore in the Senate primary, said he’s heard from many Republicans disappointed by Trump’s move.

“There are a ton, a ton of regular Alabamians that are in disbelief that the man that they put so much faith in — Donald Trump — could ever put his arm around a snake like Luther Strange,” he said.

“This is not a good decision,” Henry added, but said he tries to “defuse” that frustration because “I still think he has a chance to be a great president.”

Moore is a controversial figure nationwide for his comments denouncing homosexuality and for getting removed, twice, from his position as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court for defending religion above the law — first in 2013 for refusing to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the court building, and again in 2016 when he ordered state judges to continue a ban on same-sex marriages in defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling.

But that makes him hugely popular in Alabama, particularly among the GOP grassroots, with many of his supporters at his Thursday night rally praising Moore’s “strength of character and principal and dedication,” as one state Supreme Court associate justice put it in a prayer thanking God for Moore.

“I was a big Trump supporter”

But the Trump supporters at the Moore rally didn’t seem to blame the president. Some, like Dean Basket, a retiree from Wetumpka, Al., came to the rally as an undecided voter – but was convinced to back Moore after watching the debate.

“You know, he wasn’t a politician, so you’ve got to give him credit that he’s going to make mistakes.”

“I was a big Trump supporter, so I thought, if he needed [Strange], I was going to help him along — but I’ve just changed my mind about it, especially after tonight,” he said, having heard Moore attack Strange for being appointed by then-Gov. Robert Bentley, who eventually resigned amidst a sex scandal.

Basket’s wife Jean said she felt Trump didn’t “have all the background on all that’s gone on with Strange.” But neither one faulted the president.

“You know, he wasn’t a politician, so you’ve got to give him credit that he’s going to make mistakes,” Dean said.

Moore took first place in the first round of voting, in August, and initially a strong lead in polls of his runoff fight with Strange. But after $5 million in advertising from super PAC linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell touting Trump’s endorsement and attacking Moore as weak on immigration, public and private polls have tightened in recent weeks.

Rally speakers bashed Strange for that as well. “The president needs support to keep the promises that elected him. So we’re sending Trump someone who has our back, not Mitch McConnell’s … Make no mistake, ‘Big Luther’ is Mitch McConnell’s guy,” Palin said, using the nickname bestowed on Strange by none other than Trump himself in a tweet.

Strange’s supporters hope Trump’s visit to the state Friday, and a campaign visit by Vice President Mike Pence on Monday, will help boost the incumbent over the finish line in the race.

Risky move

The president’s decision to go all-in on behalf of Strange is a risky move. It’s the first real post-election test of his political capital, and a win would go a long way towards securing the loyalty of skeptical Republican senators in passing his agenda.

A loss, meanwhile, could embolden primary challengers nationwide, and further inspire revolt among conservatives on Capitol Hill already frustrated with the slow pace of legislation.

Texas GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert, who endorsed Moore in the primary and spoke at the rally Thursday night, said a Roy Moore win would show Republicans in Washington they don’t have to follow the dictates of their party’s leadership.

He said the lesson would be that “you can buck the system, do what you tell people you’re gonna do, and still get elected.”

When told that sounded like chaos on Capitol Hill, Gohmert agreed — and said that would be a good thing.