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Trump invites Doug Jones to the White House

Posted at 6:02 PM, Dec 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-13 18:02:38-05

President Donald Trump invited Democratic Senator-elect Doug Jones to the White House in a congratulatory phone call, Jones said Wednesday.

Jones, elected Tuesday to be a US senator from Alabama after defeating Republican Roy Moore, said it was “a very gracious call,” from the President and that he “very much appreciated it.”

“He congratulated me and my staff on the way and the matter in which we handled this campaign and went forward,” Jones said. “And we talked about finding that common ground to work together, and he invited me over to the White House to visit just as soon as I get up there.”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed the two had spoken on the phone ahead of Trump’s Wednesday tax speech.

Trump also tweeted congratulations to Jones when the results showed the Democrat had won the contentious race against the embattled Republican candidate.

“Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard fought victory,” Trump said in a tweet on Tuesday night. “The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends!”

Trump had committed support for Moore, despite sexual accusations against the candidate based on alleged encounters from decades ago.

The Republican National Committee followed in Trump’s footsteps and also backed Moore, making Jones’ victory all the more surprising in the deep red state of Alabama.