'This Week' Transcript 12-10-17: Roy Moore's Chief Political Strategist Dean Young and Sen. Ben Cardin
A rush transcript for "This Week" on December 10, 2017.
— -- THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FOR "THIS WEEK" on December 10, 2017 and it will be updated.
ANNOUNCER: THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS starts right now.
MARTHA RADDATZ, HOST: President Trump goes all in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This guy's screaming, we want Roy Moore. He's right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: Days before the special election, the president throwing his full support behind the controversial Alabama Senate candidate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROY MOORE (R), SENATE CANDIDATE: I think they're afraid that I'm going the take Alabama values to Washington. I can't wait.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: As more Republicans walk back their earlier rejections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JIM INHOFE (R), OKLAHOMA: It's a numbers game. I want Republicans to maintain control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: The race is tight. So what happens if Moore is elected? Will he face an ethics investigation and possible expulsion, or will Republicans stand by him for the sake of passing their agenda?
We're one on one with Moore's chief political strategist.
And on Capitol Hill, lawmakers already taking action on sexual misconduct accusations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D), NEW YORK: We need to draw a line in the sand and say none of it is OK. None of it is acceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: Now, three days, three resignations. Is this just the beginning? And can this momentum translate into lasting change?
Plus, violence after Trump's decision on Jerusalem. President Trump fulfilling a campaign promise and upending decades of U.S. foreign policy. So, how does this move help Trump achieve what he has called "the ultimate deal," peace between Israelis and Palestinians?
From the White House to your house, we take on the moments that mattered THIS WEEK.
ANNOUNCER: From ABC News, it's THIS WEEK. Here now, co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
RADDATZ: Good morning. After nearly two months of the #metoo tidal wave, TIME magazine named the "silence breakers," those voices that launched a movement, it's persons of the the year. And this week, the consequences of that movement finally came to Capitol Hill, now facing its own moment of reckoning. Congressman John Conyers, Representative Trent Franks, and Senator Al Franken all announcing their resignations this is week over misconduct accusations.
But as the Minnesota senator announced his departure Thursday, he took parting shot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AL FRANKEN (D), MINNESOTA: There is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office, and man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: Franken referring to sexual assault allegations against President Trump and to Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, accused of sexual misconduct with minors. But in spite of those allegations, Moore has kept up his campaign. And he now has the full support of the president heading into Tuesday's election. All this testing the #metoo movement and the soul of the Republican Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOORE: Let me state once again, I do not know any of these women, did not date any of these women, have not engaged in any sexual misconduct with anyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: Roy Moore accused of a range of inappropriate behaviors by eight women, including Leigh Corfman, who says Moore kissed her and touched her inappropriately when she was 14 and he was 32.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEIGH CORFMAN, ACCUSER OF ROY MOORE: He touched me over my clothing, what was left of it. And he tried to get me to touch him, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: And Beverly Young Nelson with her own account of an alleged assault when she was 16.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEVERLY YOUNG NELSON, ACCUSER OF ROY MOORE: Mr. moore reached over and began groping me, and putting his hands on my breasts. I tried to open my car door to leave, but he reached over, and he locked it so I could not get out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: The GOP establishment quickly condemned Moore and pulled its support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: I believe the women, yes.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), HOUSE SPEAKER: If he cares about the values and people he claims to care about, then he should step aside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: But despite the allegations, Moore refused to leave the race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOORE: I'll quit standing when they lay me in that box and put me in the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: And just 12 gas after those reports first surfaced, a lifeline from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I can tell you one thing for sure, we don't need a liberal person in there, a Democrat Jones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: Then a week ago, the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, also reopening the door.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, HOST: Do you to believe that Judge Moore should be in the Senate?
MCCONNELL: I am going to let the people of Alabama make the call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: And by the middle of the week, Moore was back in the good graces of some Republicans, the RNC putting money behind Moore, and the president delivering a full endorsement of his candidacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: How many people here are from the great state of Alabama?
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Whoa.
So get out and vote for Roy Moore. Do it. Do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: And just yesterday we learned Moore's campaign is set to run a robocall voiced by the president, his firmest step yet into the race. If this all sounds familiar, it's because it is. Last year's "Access Hollywood" tape that revealed Trump bragging about groping women threatened to derail the Trump campaign weeks before the election. But after an initial outcry, the GOP kept Trump as its nominee, and he marched on to that historic Election Day upset.
So will Roy Moore follow the Trump playbook to victory on Tuesday night?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOORE: On December 12th, you'll see an election that the world won't forget.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: So, if moore pulls out the win, will that saddle the GOP with a senator under a cloud of controversy heading into 2018? Joining me now from Alabama is Roy Moore's chief political strategist, Dean Young.
Welcome to THIS WEEK. And let me go right to the first question. How much do you think President Trump's support will help Roy Moore given that he had supported his primary opponent?
DEAN YOUNG, CHIEF POLITICAL STRATEGIST, ROY MOORE CAMPAIGN: Well, President Trump's support is very, very important for the people of Alabama and this nation. You say this President Trump's agenda. And that's why it's so important that Judge Moore win this race. Last night we had Doug Jones, the liberal Democrat, with one of his Senate buddies, Cory Booker, who said that the president should resign. So this is Donald Trump on trial in Alabama. If the people of Alabama vote for this liberal Democrat Doug Jones, then they're voting against the president who they put in office at the highest level.
So it's very important for Donald Trump, and again, it's ground zero for President Donald Trump. If they can beat him, they can beat his agenda, because Judge Moore stands with Donald Trump and his agenda. Judge Moore wants the wall. Judge Moore wants to lower taxes. Judge Moore wants a military that's strong. And that's who Judge Moore is.
And our opponent, this Democrat, Doug Jones, wants the exact opposite. So it's very important to President Trump.
RADDATZ: Well, you know, we have seen Roy Moore -- we haven't seen Roy Moore out on the campaign trail much this week. Why is that?
YOUNG: Well, Judge Moore has been out for 25 years across Alabama. And he is known by the people of Alabama. He has talked to the people of Alabama. And they're with Judge Moore. And that's why I believe if we get our vote out, and we will, Judge Moore will be the senator that will be going up to Washington on December the 12th and helping Donald Trump with his agenda.
RADDATZ: You've said of the accusations against Judge Moore, "I've known him and he has never ever said anything derogatory or sexual toward any person, any person, man, woman ever." The kind of behavior he's accused of would not likely be in front of you or anyone else, would it?
YOUNG: Well, what he has been accused of is falling apart. You know, on Friday on one of your shows, the lady that -- Gloria Allred's client was trotted out there again to tell the world that, hey, I was misleading all of you all. So it needs to be clear to the people of America and especially the people of Alabama that their stories are falling apart, that she told you one thing weeks ago and now, right, two days ago, she is coming out with Gloria Allred, and the Gloria Allred circus, and saying, well, you know, Judge Moore didn't write all this and I'm sorry about that. So the people of Alabama need to know that.
RADDATZ: Well, let's talk about that specifically, Mr. Young. You're talking about Beverly Young Nelson, who alleges Moore groped her and bruised her neck in the late 1970s when she was 16 years old. And as evidence of knowing him, she has been showing an inscription Moore made in her high school yearbook before the alleged assault.
It reads: "To a sweeter, more beautiful girl, I could not say 'Merry Christmas,' Christmas 1977. Love, Roy Moore." And Ms. Nelson now says that she put in "D.A." after that "12/22/77 Olde Hickory House," the restaurant where she said she worked. She has acknowledged that she wrote that in there. But does that mean the rest of it is a forgery?
YOUNG: Well, let's just put it this way, somebody is not telling the truth, and it's not Judge Moore. Everybody in Alabama has known Judge Moore has been telling the truth the whole time. And this is absolute proof that this woman went on TV, national TV with Gloria Allred, of all people, somebody from California trying to influence the election in Alabama, went on TV and told the whole world that Judge Moore wrote all of that.
And now she's coming back two days, three days before the election saying, I'm wrong. He didn't write all of that.
So, somebody is not telling the truth, and it's not Judge Moore.
We believe Judge Moore has been telling the truth the entire time and this is just evidence that he's been telling the truth.
RADDATZ: So where do you think this story came from, this original Washington Post story? You have eight people talking about some sort of inappropriate behavior or, flat out assault. Do you think these women all just made it up? The women in The Washington Post story didn't even know each other.
YOUNG: Well, that's a good question. And the people of Alabama want to know why, 30 days before an election, that people would just come out of the the woodwork and say and Judge Moore did this, and Judge Moore did that.
I'm not sure why they did it. I don't believe them and the people of Alabama don't believe them, but I guess, you know, one of them in in TIME magazine, one of them was on your show on Friday. In this world where everybody wants to be on TV, maybe that's the reason. I'm not sure why.
RADDATZ: Well, let me -- the most serious allegation is Leigh Corfman. She claims Moore sexually assaulted her when she was 14 years old. She responded to Judge Moore's denial with this open letter, "what you did to me when I was 14 years old should be revolting to every person of good morals, but now you're attacking my honesty and integrity. Where does your immorality end? Your smears and false denials and those of others who repeat and embellish them are defamatory and damaging to me and my family. I am telling the truth, and you should have the decency to admit it and apologize."
So, you are calling Leigh Corfman a liar?
YOUNG: I'm saying Leigh Corfman is not telling the truth. What I'm saying is this, just like you just quoted her and said, we gotta believe her because she said it, because she wrote it, that's what you all said that about the girl, the lady on Friday. You all said just because she said it -- and by the way, she's gt a piece of paper that she says Judge Moore wrote on in her yearbook, you all got believe them. You've got to believe them.
Zero evidence, and this fake narrative about Judge Moore that the people of Alabama have been putting up with for three or four weeks is falling apart if front of you all's eyes. And he will be the next senator from Alabama. And he will go up and help Trump. And this Democrat he's fighting is -- this Democrat's for asking Trump to resign.
So the people of Alabama need to understand who they're dealing with.
RADDATZ: I just want to say that, in your book, they have said -- that is evidence and 30 other people backed up those eight women in The Washington Post story.
I want to ask you finally if Judge Moore were to win the senate seat and the Senate initiated an ethics investigation, would Roy Moore go up there and testify under oath disputing these allegations?
YOUNT: Well, you know, they've been -- Mitch McConnell and his crew have been threatening Judge Moore from the get go. They spent $30 million down here trying to beat him in a primary. And then all this fake news from The Washington Post surfaces. Judge Moore is going to go to Washington. Judge Moore is going to win. And I highly doubt there is going to be a senate investigation.
But if there is, Judge Moore is going to be found telling the truth, just like he always has. And he will win. And the stakes couldn't be higher for Alabama. So Alabamans, you need to understand, that Doug Jones and his bunch want our president to resign. Judge Moore wants to go up and help the president of the the United States achieve his agenda, to protect your gun rights, to build a wall, and to make America great again. And Judge Moore is the man that will do that, and I need you people in Alabama not to fall for all these false allegations that just appeared three or four weeks ago.
RADDATZ: OK. Thanks very much for joining us, Mr. Young.
YOUNG: Yes, ma'am. Thank you for having me.
RADDATZ: And let's bring in Representative Terri Sewell, the only Democrat in the Alabamacongressional delegation. She'll be campaigning with Doug Jones later today.
Congressman Sewell, I want to get your reaction, first, to Roy Moore's political strategiest Dean Young. He says Moore's accusers are liars. Your response?
REP. TERRI SEWELL, (D) ALABAMA: Listen, the people of Alabama deserve a senator whose character and integrity and veracity won't be in question day one in the United States Senate. And we're working hard to make the case for Doug Jones.
At the end of the day, they're putting party before people, party before principle. There's no reason to doubt these women. Independent corroboration, contemporaneous accounts, and eight people who didn't know each other.
At the end of the day, when Roy Moore, if the he should win, goes to Washington, we will always be questioning his character. And I believe, and I know, that lawmakers part of it is that we have to work together across the aisle in order the get things done. And there's only one candidate in this race who has earned the right to be the United States Senator and that's Doug Jones.
RADDATZ: But, congresswoman -- I know he's been out there making the case, but these are very serious accusations against Roy Moore. Why is this race even close?
SEWELL: Listen, the state of Alabama voted for this president by 28 points. The fact that we are closed and narrowed in to a statistical dead heat is really important. I believe that the people of Alabama, this -- realize that this election is about the soul of this nation and the soul of Alabama. And, we who have been proud Alabamans know that we have been trying the to overcome our painful past. And this candidate, Roy Moore, will only take us backwards and harken us back to the days of segregation and Doug Jones will take us forward.
I really believe that the people of Alabama understand what is at stake. And all the -- the strategists can keep saying is that only Roy Moore will be behind this president's agenda. So, they're putting party over principle, party over the people, and I hope that the folks of Alabama, I really beleive that the folks of Alabama will see through this and choose to vote for the right candidate over partisan politics.
RADDATZ: And congresswoman, I want to get your reaction to mailer that the Jones campaign sent out to voters, which says, "think of a black man went after high school girls anyone would try to make him a Senator?" Many view that mailer as racially insensitive. One African-American voter told a local news outlet he no longer plans to vote after receiving the ad, saying, for his campaign to put this flyer out it is a complete slap in the face.
You're the only African-American representing Alabama in congress. Was that a mistake?
SEWELL: Listen, ads don't, mailers don't vote, it's people who vote. And I really believe that the folks of Alabama will see through all of this nonsense about Roy Moore.
At the end of the day...
RADDATZ: But was that mailer a mistake? Do you think that was a mistake? I know people vote and mailers don't, but was it a mistake?
SEWELL: Yeah.
Well, listen, I don't think that the folks are concentrating on one piece of literature. I think that we have to look at the whole body of evidence and facts that Doug Jones has been, you know, saying as to why he is the right candidate for the state of Alabama.
RADDATZ: And one of those facts, congresswoman, is...
SEWELL: ...one piece of literature.
RADDATZ: One of those facts is Doug Jones' position on abortion. Let me read what he said in September. "I am a firm believer that a woman should have the right to choose what happens to her own body. A Pew Research Center study in 2014 found that 58 percent of adults in alabama say that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. So, why should Alabama voters vote for Jones if they disagree with him on his stance on abortion?
SEWELL: Because we should not be voting on just one issue, we should look at the full body of issues from health care to education to the economy. We need someone in Washington who will be an asset to the state of Alabama and help us bring industry to Alabama, and not a distraction, a national distraction and a national embarrassment.
So, I think at the end of the day the folks of Alabama realize that it's not about one single issue,it really is about all the issues that matter to everyday Americans.
We have a tax reform bill that is being called a tax reform bill that is about to go up for a vote that will not help middle class Americans, that will not Alabamans. It's a raw deal all the way around. And those are really, really important issues that are affecting everyday Americans every day.
RADDATZ: OK. Thanks very much, Congresswoman Sewell. Appreciate your time.
SEWELL: Thanks.
RADDATZ: Coming up, we'll get the view on the ground from voters in Alabama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Roy Moore is not a miserable man, this man has more integrity than you can find in the entire congress right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: Plus, predictions about Tuesday's election from our powerhouse Roundtable.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You blame her. She's 14.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not blaming her. I'm blaming both of them. So I didn't say that I thought he was without sin. It's possible he did it, but it's possible that he could be forgiven for -- I don't think he raped her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's be real, it was a different world. 40 years ago in Alabama, people could get married at 13 and 14 years old. My grandmother, at 13, was married, at 15, had two children and a husband and a job.
If Roy Moore was guilty, if he was at the mall hitting on this 14-year-old, 40 years ago in Alabama, there's a lot of mamas and daddies that would be thrilled that their 14-year-old was getting hit on by a district attorney.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: That was Republican pollster Frank Luntz with a focus group of Republicans in Birmingham for VICE News tonight on HBO.
And we're going back now to Birmingham, Alabama, check back in with Matt Murphy and Andrea Lindenberg. They're the hosts of Alabama's most listened to political news radio program, Matt and Ani, which is syndicated throughout the state.
And Matt, let me start with you. You heard those comments from the focus group, are those the kinds of things you're hearing throughout the state?
MATT MURPHY, CO-HOST, MATT AND ANI: No, Martha. I mean, since these allegations came out, I do believe that it caused Alabama voters concern. They did question some of the sourcing of some of the initial allegations, and they wanted to find out as close to the truth as we could get.
Unfortunately, none of us are ever going to know what truly happened 38 years ago. But we have to weight that against the political consequences of sending someone to Washington, D.C. that does not represent the Alabama values that vote for Donald Trump by a 2-1 margin.
RADDATZ: And Andrea, this race, as you all know, has received an enormous amount of national attention. What affect has that had on it? You're talking about President Trump. You saw him come out for Roy Moore.
ANDREA LINDENBERG, CO-HOST, MATT AND ANI: You know, early on we saw so many people in Washington, so many members of congress saying,Roy Moore should step down. We shouldn't vote for him. And so we in Alabama were saying the last time we talked with you is let us as voters decide. And I heard a shift in that about a week, week and a half ago you started hearing people like Mitch McConnell say we're going to put this in the hands of the Alabama voters.
I think that's encouraging.
We have been asked a lot did Donald Trump's endorsement help Roy Moore and the people voting for him, and I think we would agree on this that those Roy Moore faithfuls, it didn't matter who endorsed him or did not endorse him, they're voting for him either way.
I don't know how big of an impact it had on the people who said I can't vote for Roy Moore, or I'm staying home from the polls that day. I don't know that it moved the needle that much.
RADDATZ: And Matt, you said when we spoke about four weeks ago that the voters of Alabama just needed more information from Roy Moore. You have touched on that a little bit, but basically, all they is gotten is him denying it.
MURPHY: Well, I do think it's concerning, Martha, that Judge Moore has made the decision not to speak directly in a sitdown way to some of the allegations. He's denied it, obviously, in a very confined way. But he's not answered questions about his activities were, whether or not he did date girls who were 17 or 18 years old. So, I do think it's concerning that he's not spoken directly to some of these, he does send He sends out folks, like Dean Young, whom you had on the program a little bit earlier.
So, I think voters have to decide for themselves what they make of that. Perhaps it's that Judge Moore simply dismisses these allegations out of hand, or maybe he doesn't want to talk about some of the things he was doing back in Gadsden in the 1970s and early 1980s.
RADDATZ: And Matt, you have said you won't be voting in the election at all. Andrea, you said you might choose a write-in candidate. Are you hearing others say the same thing? And just talk about that a little bit, Andrea
LINDENBERG: Yes, we are. We have heard people calling in to our show. Most people say they are going to the polls. Now, you know, historically, voter turnout has been pretty low in the state of Alabama. They're expecting maybe 24 percent, 25 percent of registered voters to actually be at the polls.
But people are saying now who initially said I don't want to vote for Roy Moore, they're looking at party policy and on principle, too. We brought up abortion. That is certainly a factor in this. And many of our listeners have shifted to say I will be voting for Roy Moore. We have one, two women who have alleged actual crimes have taken place, and one of them discredited herself a bit without telling the full story, and that's Beverly Nelson.
So I think there are voters who in the beginning when this broke were hesitant, and have said, I'm voting for the Republican. And we'll deal with it for the next election cycle if we don't think Roy Moore is the person who should be representing us.
MURPHY: And Judge Moore is not without controversy, Martha, and never has been. So, he is a known figure to a lot of people in Alabama. And a lot of times, we make some of these decisions based on some of that past history and not this present controversy.
RADDATZ: OK, thanks very much Matt and Andrea, it's always great to see you.
Up next, the Powerhouse Roundtable takes on the Alabama senate race.
Plus, will President Trump's Jerusalem move help or hurt the Mideast peace process? We'll be right back.
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RADDATZ: A busy week, so let's bring in the Powerhouse Roundtable. Jennifer Jacobs, White House reporter for Bloomberg News; Dan Balz, chief political correspondent for The Washington Post; Susan Glasser, Politico's chief international affairs columnist and host of The Global Politico podcast; and we welcome Joshua Johnson, host of NPR's One-A based at WAMU here in Washington.
Welcome, everybody.
And Dan Balz, I'm going to start with you. It's all we have talk about all morning, and we're going to keep talking about it. Roy Moore, two days away. What do you think his chances?
DAN BALZ, THE WASHINGTON POST: Well, I think his chances are probably pretty good. It's a very red state, and the degree to which tribal allegiance has outweighs all of the other issues that have become so prominent in this election over the last few weeks, you would have to say he has some advantage.
But he's obviously a flawed candidate. There's a real effort to try to turn out Democratic vote. We don't know how enthusiastic or unenthusiastic some of the Republican base might be. We know there's a lot of conflict and conflicted people there.
So, I'm not in the prediction business. But if Roy Moore, if everything goes according to pattern, Roy Moore probably has some advantage at this point.
RADDATZ: And Jennifer, we saw President Trump campaigning about 20 miles from Alabama. He's going to do those robocalls today. Why didn't he just go into Alabama?
JENNIFER JACOBS, BLOOMBERG NEWS: Well, listen, it's still really a controversial thing, even within the White House.
Early on, some of his closest aides were advising him to keep his distance from this Roy Moore thing. They were saying, listen, we don't know what information is going to come out yet. We don't know how the Alabama voters are going the react, or how the nation is going to react. The talking point should be at this point it's up to the voters of Alabama. And you had Mitch McConnell advising the president even to condemn Roy Moore, you had chief of staff John Kelly saying, let's just stay away there this at this point.
And then you had other advisers who are saying, OK, go ahead and give a full-throated endorsement, but now that...
RADDATZ: Which he has.
JACOBS: And now the race has stabilized somewhat. And you've got some advisers who are saying this guy has great instincts. He's in touch with his base. He's right to come out and support Roy Moore, and you have others in the White House who are still saying we're uncomfortable with you cozying up to Roy Moore like this and they've told him that.
RADDATZ: And Joshua, Doug Jones, the Democrat in the Alabama race, is obviously reaching out to African-American voters. Have they done enough? Can he rally the vote?
JOSHUA JOHNSON, NPR: That remains to be seen. I mean, the mailer that you mentioned with the congresswoman from Alabama was right on the line. I mean, right down to the smirk on the guy's face, like, really, do you think they wouldn't arrest me? It was right up to that line.
But I don't even know if the African-American vote in Alabama is enough to carry Doug Jones over the line. It depends on how much African-Americans are mobilized by this, whether or not the mailer makes any difference, and whether or not they feel the same kind of fervor about...
RADDATZ: Any difference in getting them out or any difference in them saying I don't like that?
JOHNSON: Well, both really. But particularly in showing up.
I mean, I feel like the evangelical Christians who are supporting Roy Moore have a very strong impetus to show up because of the platform that he's put forth. I'm almost more interested to see what happens with evangelical Christians, particularly with all the issues important to evangelicals that have come up in 2017, and whether this affects the way they view themselves not only as voters, but as Christians.
RADDATZ: And I think you did a segment on that this week. What is your general feeling about it?
JOHNSON: Well, the segment is coming out tomorrow. And I can't stop thinking about this verse from the book of Mark chapter 8, 36. "What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul." There have been a lot of issues important to evangelicals this year from the naming Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or the Johnson amendment or Roy Moore's candidacy, or Joel Osteen in Houston not opening Lakewood Church to victims of Hurricane Harvey that a painting a picture of evangelicals as a key of President Trump's base.
And I wonder at what point a reckoning comes, if any, where evangelical Christians say, we may be getting what we want in congress, but is god pleased with our sacrifice? Is this who we want to be as a community of Americans whose primary purpose is to make more Christians. Is this who we are?
RADDATZ: And Susan, you have obviously been watching this closely. President Trump says the last thing the make America great agenda needs is a liberal Democrat in the senate.
But if Roy Moore is elected, does he become a real headache for Republicans?
SUSAN GLASSER, POLITICO: Well, look, he's not going to be very welcomed by his Republican Senate colleagues nevermind the Democrat senate colleagues. And Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, has made that very clear.
I just want to go back to this point about President Trump. I do think that, you know, that he will own it and, you know, crow about this as a great victory for his political program if Moore wins, that he's gone all in despite the advice of these advisers.
You have Steve Bannon, who remains close to Trump I think politically, at least, out there campaigning directly for Roy Moore, inserting himself into the race in a way that suggests the fissure inside the Republican Party. That fissure will only grow wider if he comes up here to Capitol Hil. The Republicans are already suggesting there will be a Senate investigation by the ethics committee. What on earth they're going to be able to determine from that, of course, is entirely unclear. It would be a big mess either way, as the great Dan Balz wrote in his column today. You have Alabama senior Republican senator, this is a deep red state. Richard Shelby out this morning saying that he would think that Alabama should do better than Roy Moore. That's quite unusual for a sitting senator of your same party to be attacking him.
RADDATZ: And Dan, I just want to end with you quickly. Al Franken obviously resigned this week. Did that have to happen?
BALZ: It seems in the current climate it did have to happen. I suspect over time, there will be some revisiting of kind of what's the nature of the penalties that should the applied to different...
RADDATZ: Kirsten Gillibrand said none of it is acceptable.
BALZ: Right. And I think we are now in an environment in which that is the case. But the people of Alabama will render perhaps a different judgment on that question on Tuesday.
RADDATZ: OK.
Hang on for just a moment. The Roundtable is sticking with us. We're going to take a look at the president's nearly 90-minute campaign rally Friday night. It was filled with red meat for Trump supporters. We'll hear there them and take alook at some of the president's questionable claims. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RADDATZ: For breaking news alerts on politics, the White House, and President Donald Trump download the ABC News app right now.
And we'll be right back with a live report from Israel on those clashes breaking out overnight in the wake of President Trump's controversial decision to move our Israeli embassy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RADDATZ: The fallout over President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital continues this morning as violent protests broke out in front of the U.S. embassy in Lebanon. The issue is being used as rallying call across the Muslim world. And more demonstrations are expected in the coming days.
ABC's James Longman is on the ground in the thick of it with the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMES LONGMAN, ABC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Overnight, across the region from Beirut to Jakarta, a rallying cry for angry protesters. And earlier, tear gas and rubber bullets raining down near the site where Jesus was born. This, not long after President Trump announced the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and vowed to move the U.S. embassy there.
At least four Palestinians have been killed and hundreds injured since the news broke. In Gaza, where fury at the president burned, Israeli air strikes hit weapons sites after three rockets were fired into its territory.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You cannot give something that does not belong to him. There's no peace in the world if there is no peace in Jerusalem.
LONGMAN: And on Friday, at the United Nations, the U.S. defending its decision.
NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: The United States will not be lectured to by countries that lack any credibility when it comes to treating both Israelis and Palestinians fairly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RADDATZ: And James Longman joins us now.
And, James, I know you're there in the West Bank. And behind you, some protesters. What do you think we'll see in the coming days?
LONGMAN: Well, Martha, more of the same. I don't know if you can see, but there has just been a huge volley of tear gas shot over from Israeli security forces as these groups of young men approach. And it has been like this here in Bethlehem, in Ramallah, across the West Bank, and in Gaza, and further afield, across the Arab and Muslim world, because this really is a rallying cry.
We haven't seen the mass protests that I think some people expected. That might be because Palestinians feel a bit despondent about the situation with their leadership. But nevertheless, tensions here running very high, and violence can erupt at any moment.
RADDATZ: And what's the reaction of the Israelis you have talked to?
LONGMAN: Well, as you might imagine, the Israeli government is very supportive of this move. And speaking to people in West Jerusalem, for example, their reaction is very simple. They believe that Israel is -- Jerusalem is their capital, their government buildings are here, the Knesset is here. So they think is a realistic announcement to make.
I don't think it's lost on Israelis, though, that Donald Trump made this speech to placate his base in the U.S., because it was a campaign promise, but nevertheless, I think, broadly speaking, Israelis are happy. Although I think people on the left of the Israeli spectrum here are slightly concern that it might have a negative impact on negotiations.
RADDATZ: And a little bit more on that. What do you think we'll see in terms of any kind of peace initiative?
LONGMAN: Well, the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, called the speech reprehensible. He said that this totally -- it totally ruins the U.S. position as a neutral broker, if you like, because that goes to the very heart of this entire peace process. The United States has been a neutral broker to be able to get two sides around the table. And the Palestinian foreign minister has said very clearly that he believes that Donald Trump has picked a side.
So there is going to need to be a peace process, a peace initiative. But quite what the role the United States has in that, well, I think that is now in the balance -- Martha.
RADDATZ: Thanks very much for joining us, James, and stay safe.
And joining me now is the top democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland.
Good morning, senator.
I know you support President Trump's proclamation about Jerusalem. You just saw James Longman there talk about the peace process. You saw those demonstrations. How is this good for a peace process?
SEN. BEN CARDIN (D), MARYLAND: First, Martha, it's good to be with you.
As has -- has been pointed out, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. In 1995, Congress enacted a statute that said the same. So I think the announcement itself was not anything that -- that is news.
But what the president should have done is done it in the right diplomatic way. And there I think he did not. It should have been done in a way to advance the peace process or a two-state solution. Instead, the president just made the announcement, did not take advantage of that in regards to the Israelis and offered the Palestinians very little. I think that was a mistake, the manner in which he did it, but clearly Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
RADDATZ: But he overturned basically decades and decades of U.S. foreign policy. Other presidents have said they want to do that, but he's the only one who has. So, now what?
CARDIN: Well, I've talked to many of the players in the Middle East. I think they knew this day was coming. I don't think it was a surprise.
I think what is the surprise in the manner in which the president did it, that he did not really engage all the players as far as trying to move forward on the peace process. A country determines its own capital. Israel determined that Jerusalem is its capital. It's where their government facilities are located. It is the facts, it's the facts on the ground.
RADDATZ: I just want to say, Turkey's president said it is like throwing the region into a ring of fire. Jordan's king said it will provoke Muslims and Christians alike. Saudis expressed concern. Even our European allies sounded a chorus of alarm with French President Macron calling it regrettable and others saying it will send us backward to even darker times than the ones we are already living in.
So what would you say to them? You say you don't like the way President Trump did this. What do you do to fix it?
CARDIN: Well, Martha, we've seen this in so many places in the world where the -- where Mr. Trump has no appreciation for diplomacy. We see that in a budget he submitted, with the State Department's budget. We see he that on personnel decisions that are being made. I think the president is damaging America's national security and our standing in the world for his inability to use diplomacy in the right way. So there was a right way of doing this and the president, to date, has not shown his understanding of the importance of diplomacy.
RADDATZ: And I want to move back home here to Capitol Hill, to your colleague, Senator Franken, who resigned this week, said he was stepping down, after more than 30 Democratic senators called for his resignation. You were not one of them. Why not?
CARDIN: Well, I let Senator Franken make his own decision. I think he did what he thought was best of the people of Minnesota. It was clear, as he pointed out on the Senate floor, that he could not defend himself and represent the people of Minnesota in a manner in which they were entitled.
So he made his own decision. I think it was the right decision.
Moving forward, it's very clear that this type of behavior is just not appropriate. We now have a chance -- I hope the people of Alabama will speak with a very clear voice that a person like Mr. Moore has no place in the United States Senate. The Republicans were speaking that language before the last couple of weeks where now it look like they are more concerned about having a vote in the Senate rather than who occupies that seat.
So, I hope that the American people understand that this type of behavior will not be allowed.
RADDATZ: And just quickly, if Roy Moore wins, do you think there should there be an ethics investigation? Do you trust that process in congress?
CARDIN: Well, you know, clearly, the ethics committee is a place in which we make our decisions as to qualifications for people staying in the senate, and for any penalties that may be imposed. I hope we don't have to reach that point, because I hope the people of Alabama on Tuesday will do the right thing and reject Mr. Moore for what he stands for.
RADDATZ: There's also a new Quinnipiac University poll out this week that found 70 percent of Americans say congress should investigate sexual harassment allegations against President Trump. Do you agree with taht?
CARDIN: Well, there's a limit as to what the congress can do in investigating a president's conduct, most of it falls under the impeachment clause. But there is clearly a major concerns that have been expressed by many of us as to the behavior of President Trump and -- including the episodes involving the tapes that we have heard during the campaign.
So, there's clearly concerns that we have. The American people, of course, heard that and then elected him president of the United States. I think the important thing moving forward is to make sure that the President Trump that we have accountability for actions in office.
RADDATZ: Thanks very much for joining us this morning, senator.
CARDIN: Thank you.
RADDATZ: I'll be right back with the roundtable in just one minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RADDATZ: And we are back now with our roundtable.
And Susan, I want to turn to you. Just after listening to Senator Cardin, is there any way to reignite any peace process, such as it was before?
GLASSER: Well, look, there hasn't been a peace process. And I think if anything President Trump's promise to make the ultimate deal on peace certainly isn't going to happen any sooner as a result of this week's decision. In many ways, you know, the question is really he charged his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, with making this deal. The question is really...
RADDATZ: Even though the vice president is now going over.
GLASSER: Well, maybe he undercut his son-in-law in doing this.
I think it lengthens the timetable, number one. Number two, you mentioned Vice President Pence is supposed to be going to the region this week. That will be an early test of just how bad the reaction is.
For right now, it's not even clear that Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen, the head of the Palestinian Authority, will meet with the vice president. He might well cancel, I would imagine as his protest against this.
It underscores some important realities that Trump faces, obstacles to his ultimate deal.
Number one, the United States has sort of pulled back in some ways from a leadership role. You see Vladimir Putin this week in the region in Egypt. You see Emmanuel Macron, the French president, stepping in. And I think the message that they're trying to send is very clear, which is if the United States isn't going to lead in the Middle East, we are. Number one.
RADDATZ: And others will step in.
GLASSER: Well, number two, and I think this is important for people here in the U.S. to understand, does Trump have anybody to make a deal with? The smartest Israel watchers that I know say listen, I don't think that either Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Israeli side or Mahmoud Abbas on the Palestinian side really has the political strength right now internally to be able to do something which is really tough, which is to make a breakthrough, to trade -- to make concessions, the kind of deal that you need to make.
And then on the American side, you have to look at the this and wonder, how smart is Donald Trump being as a dealmaker that he likes to portray himself as to give away this concession without apparently gaining anything in return.
RADDATZ: Even though he wants the the ultimate deal.
I want to move back to that speech in Pensacola. We saw that rally. We heard what he said about Roy Moore.
But let's play one of the president's biggest applause lines from the evening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: My job is not to be president of the world, my job is to be president of the United States of America, yet there are powerful forces in Washington trying to sabotage our movement. These are bad people. These are very, very bad and evil people. They will lie and leak and smear because they don't want to accept the results of an election where we won by a landslide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: So, Jennifer, why is he still on that topic?
JACOBS: The White House said that they wanted to test some of the themes for 2018 at this rally. So, you notice that some of the biggest applause lines were when Trump talked about the fake news. He likes to stress the idea...
RADDATZ: Oh, he likes that one.
JACOBS: ...that the media is part of the left and the propaganda of the left. The biggest cheers were at the mention of the national anthem and Trump's demand that Americans should stand during the anthem. Any mention of the military. Those were the biggest applause lines according to my co-worker who was in the room.
You'll notice, he did stay away from some of the more inflammatory race-based, racial relations comments he's made this the past, such as "both sides" from Charlottesville and things like that.
RADDATZ: And Dan, what was your reaction to the entire speech?
BALZ: Well, I thought it was a classic Donald Trump campaign rally speech of the kind that we saw throughout 2016, and we have seen when he has gone out into the country during his presidency.
He feeds off those crowds. He tests lines when he's out in an audience like that. And as we know, he exaggerates mightily on things. I mean, I was struck again when he talked about winning in a landslide. He did lose the popular vote. He clearly won the electoral college. But his electoral college numbers were well below those of presidents Reagan, president Clinton, president George H.W. Bush, et. cetera.
So, he has this desire to feed his base and he does it extraordinarily well when he's in front of them, but he leaves himself open to all these other questions.
RADDATZ: But he did have some positive news on the economy, on jobs.
JOHNSON: There was positive news. And, you know, the jobless rate has remained at 4.1 percent. We added jobs last month. The Dow Jones hit another record, so that is good news.
But, basically, this is kind of a version of the speech the president always gives, so there really -- I wasn't really shocked. I mean, I keep going back to the Maya Angelo quote, "when someone showsyou who they really are, believe them the first time."
This is kind of a version of the kind of speech that we know the president likes the to give, because he is among his base. It's comfortable territory.
RADDATZ: And I want to interrupt you, quickly. We only just have a few seconds here, but The New York Times' story talking about what is going on inside the White House. Has the presidency changed Donald Trump or has Donald Trump changed the presidency?
JOHNSON: Yes, and it's also changed the body politic. I mean, you can't go into the White House without being changed. I will be interested to see how steadfastly Donald Trump is able to remain the same person in 2020 that he was in 2016 and convince his base to keep him in that position. That's the real question.
RADDATZ: And very quickly on that story as well, John Kelly still have a lot of influence in the White House?
GLASSER: Yes, absolutely.
RADDTAZ: It says that Donald Trump craves the attention.
GLASSER: Yes, he tries to be subtle, though, he tries to do it in way that the president doesn't feel like he's being micro-managed.
RADDATZ: OK. Thanks, all of you. It's always good to see you on a Sunday morning. That's all we have for today. Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us. Check out World News Tonight. And have a great day.
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