As the scandal surrounding Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore reached a fever pitch this week, First Daughter and chief adviser to the president Ivanka Trump weighed in. Speaking to the Associated Press last Wednesday, Ivanka stated that she believed Moore’s accusers, saying, “There is a special place in hell for people who prey on children. I’ve yet to see a valid explanation, and I have no reason to doubt the victims’ accounts.”

Multiple women have now come forward to say Moore either pursued them or sexually assaulted them when they were teens. At the outset of the revelations, Trump was dead silent on the matter.

But this Tuesday, Trump broke with many Republicans and affirmed his support for the embattled candidate. Trump’s main rationale for supporting Moore is the fact that he denies the allegations and that the alleged incidents occurred a long time ago.

Ivanka Trump said there is a special place in hell for people like Roy Moore Donald Trump just told the people of Alabama to vote for him — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 21, 2017

“He totally denies it. He says it didn’t happen,” Trump told reporters as he left for another Mar-a-Lago vacation. “I do have to say, 40 years is a long time.”

“I can tell you one thing for sure, Trump added. “We don’t need a liberal person in there, a Democrat — Jones. I’ve looked at his record. It’s terrible on crime. It’s terrible on the border. It’s terrible on the military.”

Last week, the Republican National Committee withdrew its support for Moore and both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan have called on Moore to drop out of the race.

“These allegations are credible,” Ryan said, adding, “He should step aside.

From the Los Angeles Times:

With his long-anticipated comments Tuesday, Trump echoed some Moore supporters, including Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who put partisan concerns above the character issues surrounding Moore. They argue that a Republican senator is needed to support Trump’s agenda and judicial nominees. Polls show Moore in a tight race with Democrat Doug Jones ahead of the Dec. 12 special election, but the Republican has lost significant ground in the solidly conservative state.

Special place in hell or not, Trump left open the possibility of hitting the campaign trail for the Alabama judge.

“I’ll be letting you know next week,” Trump said.

[H/T Judd Legum] Featured image via Flickr