Trump hasn’t devoted ‘much time’ to Roy Moore scandal

President Trump, in the middle of a 12-day trip across Asia, said on Saturday that he has not devoted much time to new allegations that Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore made sexual advances on a minor when he was in his 30s. 

Trump said that he had instead been fielding meetings and discussions with world leaders — including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin — and that he would soon have more to say on the matter.

“I’m dealing with the president of China, the president of Russia. I’m dealing with the folks over here,” he told reporters on Air Force One. “So I haven’t devoted — I haven’t been able to devote very much time to it.”

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White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday that the president hadn’t passed any judgement against Moore amid the allegations, but added that the former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice should step aside if the accusations are true.

Trump himself echoed that sentiment on Saturday, saying that he stood by the statement and believed Moore would do “the right thing” regarding the allegations.

“I’ll stick with my statement for now, but I’ll have further comment as we go down the road,” he said. “I have to get back into the country to see what’s happening.”

A bombshell Washington Post report on Thursday detailed allegations that Moore sought romantic relationships with four teenage girls when he was in his 30s. One of the women, Leigh Corfman, said that Moore, now 70, had initiated sexual encounters with her when she was just 14 years old.

The insurgent Alabama Republican vehemently denied Corfman’s allegations in an interview with radio host Sean Hannity on Friday. He did not rule out the possibility that he dated girls in their later teens while he was in his 30s, though he said he did not remember.