Hey, So Donald Trump Just Got Some Really Bad News
Can't wait for Trump's tweets!
Good news! For us! Not Donald Trump! In a huge blow for the US President, a progressive Democrat just won a special Senate election race in deeply conservative Alabama (!!!), meaning the Republicans’ Senate majority has been cut to just one.
The Democrat, Doug Jones, defeated former judge Roy Moore, who was heavily backed by Trump and spent most of the campaign fending off allegations of sexual abuse and child molestation — including one claim that he had “dated” a 14-year-old girl when he was in his 20s.
Despite multiple women coming forward with similar accusations against Moore throughout the campaign, it was a super tight race in the end. Votes are still being counted, but when the result was decided there were only a few hundred separating the candidates.
To give you a sense of just how extraordinary this victory is, Alabama hasn’t elected a Democrat in more than 20 years, and Trump won Alabama in 2016 by 28 points — but it turns out people draw the line at allegations of pedophilia.
Let’s make sure we don’t generalize our gratitude or obscure our shame. pic.twitter.com/58a4YlxBMP
— Robin DeRosa (@actualham) December 13, 2017
Thank you ALABAMA!!
— Doug Jones (@GDouglasJones) December 13, 2017
Tonight, Alabama voters elected a senator who'll make them proud.
And if Democrats can win in Alabama, we can — and must — compete everywhere.
Onward!
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 13, 2017
Even before the allegations against Moore emerged during the race, it was clear that he’s a deeply unpleasant person. In the past, he’s proudly compared homosexuality to bestiality and said that Muslims shouldn’t be allowed to serve in Congress. He once gave up his job as a judge rather than follow an order to remove a statue of the 10 commandments from the front of his courthouse.
It’s also hugely embarrassing for Trump. In a primary race for the Republican nomination, Trump backed Moore’s opponent, Luther Strange, but Republican voters voted for Moore anyway. Trump then switched to Moore, enthusiastically backing him in the final days of the race. Here’s Trump’s tweet from just this morning.
The people of Alabama will do the right thing. Doug Jones is Pro-Abortion, weak on Crime, Military and Illegal Immigration, Bad for Gun Owners and Veterans and against the WALL. Jones is a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet. Roy Moore will always vote with us. VOTE ROY MOORE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017
It turns out the people of Alabama did do the right thing, by failing to elect an anti-abortion, anti-gay, racist, alleged pedophile.
And more good news! The Republicans now control the Senate by only a single vote. In his first year in office, Trump struggled to pass any big pieces of legislation, and that job just got even harder.
Trump has sent a surprisingly magnanimous tweet, congratulating Jones on the victory. It’s a little too nice, though, so it was probably written by a staffer. Just wait until he wakes up in the morning, that’s when he usually gets real mad.
Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard fought victory. The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2017