Kellyanne Conway was asked yesterday morning why Donald Trump has said nothing in response to Roy Moore's sexual-misconduct allegations. "He's been very busy here working," Conway said from the White House.
Evidently, the president managed to pry himself away from his work to weigh in on the sexual-misconduct allegations surrounding Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.).
"The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps?"
Let's just get some of the basic details out of the way. First, we don't know that any other related photographs of Franken exist. Second, on the heels of mocking Hillary Clinton for misspelling a Russian word nearly nine years ago, Trump spelled "Frankenstein" wrong. Third, in the Mary Shelley story, Frankenstein was the doctor, not the monster.
But even putting all of that aside, whether the president understands this or not, Trump is playing a dangerous game here.
For example, Trump may prefer to pretend the controversy didn't happen, but he was recorded bragging about sexually assaulting women. The Republican said, among other things, that he kisses women he considers attractive – "I don't even wait," Trump claimed at the time – which he said he can get away with because of his public profile.
"When you're a star, they let you do it," Trump said on the recording. "You can do anything. Grab 'em by the p—y."
After Trump denied having done what he bragged about doing, several women came forward to accuse the Republican of sexual misconduct. He insisted the allegations were false -- the official White House position is that each of the accusers are liars -- though some of those women accused him of actions Trump boasted about on the "Access Hollywood" recording.
If the president has somehow convinced himself that he has some credibility on this issue, and that the political world should focus on Franken's controversy instead of his own, Trump is mistaken.
But there's also the matter of Roy Moore's controversy in Alabama, which as Politico noted overnight, Trump has steered "conspicuously clear" of.
NBC News added yesterday, "[T]he silence from Trump -- as the president of the United States, as the leader of the Republican Party and as someone who is never afraid to tweet what's on his mind -- speaks volumes."
If Trump is too "busy" to comment on Moore, but has time to take shots at Franken, I'll look forward to the White House's explanation.