"A grown man ... at a teen dance recital?" Stephanie Ruhle nails Roy Moore

In a discussion of Donald Trump’s decision to back Moore and defend him from these allegations, columnist Mike Lupica referenced reporting from Alabama about Moore indicating that he “is a guy who clearly looked at custody hearings and dance recitals as mixers.”

Ruhle wryly noted, “My husband doesn’t even want to go to dance recitals that our children are in. What would a grown man be doing at a teen dance recital?”

LUPICA: When you talked about more than 20 women, have accused the president and Roy Moore. You come out of a banking business, so you understand statistics and probability. What are the odds that all 20 of these women are making these stories up? And for him to come out and essentially defend Roy Moore and — Stephanie, this is a guy who clearly looked at custody hearings and dance recitals as mixers.

RUHLE: Dance recitals where he had no family members, he had no reason to be – let me tell you, my husband doesn’t even want to go to dance recitals that our children are in. What would a grown man be doing at a teen dance recital?

The exchange was based on Moore’s own words about how he met his wife, Kayla Moore. He described taking an interest in her when he was at “a dance recital at Gadsden State Junior College,” when she was 15 or 16 and he was about 30.

It is one of many anecdotes stories that have emerged about Moore inappropriately involving himself with underage girls. Becky Gray, who said Moore harassed her in the 1970s, claimed he was banned from a shopping mall because of his advances toward her when she was a teenager. Many Gadsden residents have said it was common knowledge that Moore aggressively preyed on teenage girls.

The abundance of stories about Moore, including his own story in his own words, lends considerable credibility to the charges that he harassed and molested children.

Donald Trump, who also engaged in predatory sexual behavior, has now backed Moore, and the Republican Party’s decision to go down this path is prompting revulsion from coast to coast.