Trump: Say, maybe Roy Moore should hang it up now

It’s not the fabled “fat lady,” but Donald Trump thinks the soap opera in Alabama is over — and Roy Moore should admit it. “He tried,” Trump answered when asked about Moore’s refusal to concede in a presser on the White House lawn. “I want to support the person running — I’d like to have the seat.” However, Trump concluded, “I would certainly say he should” resign:

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Thus far, Moore’s still refusing to concede — and may be looking at a recount. The margin of victory for Jones far surpassed the 0.5% threshold for state-funded recounts, and the number of outstanding military ballots amount to about half of what he’d need to flip even if every ballot went Moore’s way. That means that Moore would have to provide the funding for a recount, the cost for which might run as high as $1.5 million. And right now, Moore doesn’t have the cash:

Merrill told Fortune the cost of recount would be between $1 million and $1.5 million and the total amount must be put up when the request is made. Moore’s most recent financial report showed he had about $636,000 cash on hand.

It’s also unlikely the Alabama Republican Party – which backed Moore even after the national GOP temporarily suspended its support – would be willing to help fund a recount.

Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan issue a statement after Jones’ win saying “the race is over.”

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Don’t expect the RNC to jump in a third time to help out, either. They took considerable blowback within their own ranks for their decision to put resources into the race after having backed out after multiple sexual misconduct allegations emerged during the general election. They’re not about to open that can of worms, especially not in pursuit of a recount that would be impossible to win. Recounts only impact outcomes when the race ends with margins in the hundreds, not in the thousands or tens of thousands. (We emphasized this point repeatedly during the recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan a year ago, too.)

Trump’s right — it’s over, and Moore should concede. He probably won’t, though, or won’t until practically no one is paying attention any longer. And … it really doesn’t matter anyway. Concessions are political traditions, not legal submissions. Candidates get certified for office on the basis of the vote tallies. While it’s considered poor form to refuse to concede, it means nothing other than the impact on a candidate’s reputation. And Moore hardly has to worry about that now.

Also, Trump made one other piece of news — he’s not considering a pardon for Michael Flynn. Yet:

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Flynn would normally need to apply for a pardon first. Would he do that after cutting a plea deal with Mueller? Hmmm. It might have been better for Trump to just say no comment to this question, as it might get interpreted as a signal to Flynn. Trump’s so frustrated with this special counsel investigation that he may not care, but his attorneys probably do.

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