Will Trump’s Twitter attack backfire?

Developments on Day 327 of the Trump Administration:

See also Podcasts: A Victory for Decency in Alabama

Trump Tries to Humiliate Legislator Into Silence

Under renewed pressure over allegations of sexual harassment by at least 15 women, Donald Trump lashes out at a Senator by implying that she offered favors in return for campaign contributions.

The latest episode over Trump’s claimed sexual misconduct started Monday when three women gave their testimonies of his sexual advances and harassment including groping and forced kissing. Later in the day, 56 Democratic women legislators called for an investigation and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said Trump should resign.

Trump responded on Twitter on Tuesday morning, accusing Gillibrand of acting for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and adding his innuendo before an unclear reference to Bill and Hillary Clinton:

Senator Gillibrand responded, “It was a sexist smear attempting to silence my voice, and I will not be silenced on this issue. Neither will the women who stood up to the president yesterday.”

Dozens of congressional Democrats, led by women, supported Gillibrand. Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii tweeted:

The reaction to Trump’s tweet further indicates that he is in a different situation than in 2016, when he survived the testimonies of the 15 women and a video tape in which he bragged of his sexual accosting of women. Attention to the sexual harassment of Hollywood figures, politicians, and journalists has already led to the resignations of three legislators — and Trump’s derisory tweets about one of them, Senator Al Franken, has risked the spotlight returning to his own record.

See VideoCast: Trump’s Alleged Sexual Harassment
TrumpWatch, Day 326: Women Testify About Trump’s Alleged Sexual Harassment

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders sought to push aside any “slut-shaming” in Trump’s tweet, telling journalists that “only if your mind is in the gutter would you have read” the post that way. She insisted that he was referring to general corruption in the US political system: “There’s no way that this is sexist at all.”

Trump tried to dismiss any controversy by tweeting that Democrats “are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met”.

But that defense quickly evaporated as news outlets posted photographs of Trump alongside his accusers and more women offered their accounts of encounters with the businessman and reality TV star.

“Suck It, Bannon”: GOP Civil War Over Alabama Senate Defeat

The defeat of GOP candidate Roy Moore in the special Senate election in Alabama — the deepest-red of GOP red states — has immediately sharpened the war within the Republican Party.

Meghan McCain, the daughter of Senator John McCain — a target of hard-right former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon — reacted soon after the election was called for Democrat Doug Jones:

The Wall Street Journal also took aim, “Roy Moore’s Defeat Shows that Steve Bannon is for Losers”.

But Bannon’s Breitbart attack site fought back, “Establishment Republicans Cheer Roy Moore’s Loss in Alabama”.

See Podcasts: A Victory for Decency in Alabama

Soon after his dismissal from the White House, Bannon promoted Moore as part of his insurgency against “establishment” Republicans, helping the controversial judge win the Republican primary over interim Senator Luther Strange.

Donald Trump, who endorsed Strange in the primary, quickly swung behind Moore for the general election and staked his reputation on a high-profile rally for the judge last Friday. However, after the stinging defeat in a state he won by 28% last November, Trump tried to cut his losses on Wednesday morning: