Ivanka Trump on Roy Moore: 'There’s a Special Place in Hell for People Who Prey on Children'
It’s been nearly a week since The Washington Post first reported that Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore had allegedly initiated sexual contact with a 14-year-old and pursued relationships with other teen girls when he was in his 30s.
On Tuesday, Ivanka Trump offered the sharpest White House criticism of Moore yet, telling the Associated Press, “There’s 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.”
In the days since the Post first broke the story, a former coworker revealed to CNN that it was “common knowledge that [Moore] dated high-school girls,” The New Yorker reported that Moore had been banned from an Alabama mall for bothering teenage girls, and a fifth woman came forward accusing Moore of sexual assault.
Other prominent Republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have stated publicly that they believe the women and have called on Moore to drop out of the race. But in her interview with the AP, Ivanka did not implore Moore to withdraw his candidacy—and considering the administration’s ambiguous response to the Moore scandal, it should come as no surprise.
And much like her brother’s Harvey Weinstein commentary did earlier this month, Ivanka’s remarks conspicuously overlooked her own father’s history of harassment and sexual misconduct. Aside from the infamous Access Hollywood tape, numerous women have accused the President of sexual harassment and he’s had his own history of crude moments with young girls.
Who could forget Donald Trump’s 1992 appearance on Entertainment Tonight when, after talking to a 10-year-old girl on an escalator, he turned to the camera to say “I am going to be dating her in 10 years. Can you believe it?” Or when he met two teens outside the Plaza Hotel, asked them how old they were (they answered that they were 14) and then quipped, “‘Wow! Just think—in a couple of years I’ll be dating you.'” And of course, there was the time he reportedly visited the dressing rooms of several Miss Teen USA contestants as they were changing.
Twitter, unsurprisingly, was quick to point this out—promptly challenging Ivanka’s comments on Moore.
https://twitter.com/NatalieGBorden/status/930912485720412160