White House: Trump finds Roy Moore allegations 'very troubling' but believes voters should decide his fate

Evan Vucci/AP

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during a daily press briefing in Washington.

• President Donald Trump believes that the allegations of sexual misconduct against Roy Moore are "very troubling," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
• Amid the calls for Moore to step aside, Sanders said that Trump believes the decision is up to Alabama voters.

After several Republican lawmakers called for Roy Moore, the Republican nominee for Alabama's open senate seat, to step aside amid accusations of sexual misconduct, President Donald Trump is said to believe that the decision will ultimately be up to the state's voters.

"The president believes this is a decision for the people of Alabama to make," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a press conference Thursday. "Not one for him to make."

Moore has been accused of initiating sexual encounters with at least seven women, decades ago, when they were in their teens. Moore was a lawyer in his 30s at the time.

"The president has been clear that if any of these allegations are true, allegations that he takes very seriously, finds very troubling ... then [Moore] should do the right thing and step aside," Sanders continued.

Trump, who previously endorsed Moore's opponent during the primaries, has remained quiet on the scandal that has rocked the Republican Party. Several key Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, distanced themselves from Moore by saying they believed the accusations and called for him to step aside.

First daughter Ivanka Trump joined in as well, saying that there was "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," Ivanka said, according to the Associated Press.

Moore has vigorously denied the allegations and called for an investigation: "I am suffering the same treatment other Republicans have had to endure," Moore said in a statement to Fox News opinion host Sean Hannity.

Alabama's special Senate election is scheduled for December 12.