(CNN) When it comes to making sense of President Donald Trump's public statements, especially his tweets, the first rule is to not think too hard. Trump is not operating out of a secret genius playbook. There is no game theory reasoning in effect here.

So when Trump, silent for so long on Roy Moore, piped up late Thursday to attack Minnesota Sen. Al Franken over revelations of sexual misconduct, the simplest explanation was this: He wanted attention.

Good, bad, whatever; the tweets guaranteed that we would be talking -- and here, writing -- about the President. After nearly 10 months in office, most every day of it in the headlines, there was a possibility that, on Friday, Trump might wake up to find his name a secondary concern. And that, it seems, was too much to bear. (No, it didn't hurt that Franken is a Democrat.)

The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? ..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2017

.And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2017

That the tweets would inevitably rekindle chatter about his own history -- the Access Hollywood tape, in which he speaks at length about sexually assaulting women, and the unresolved allegations made against him during the campaign, to name a few -- was an afterthought.

Not that Trump hadn't thought about this before. It's been more than a week since Moore's accusers first spoke out and turned the Alabama Senate race on its ear. The now-familiar charges against the Republican nominee: molesting a 14-year-old; "dating" teenagers; and the sexual assault of a 16-year-old in his car.

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