Trump 'resigned to a loss' in Alabama and trying to gauge 'damage' to his political clout: report

At a meeting at the White House on Monday night, President Donald Trump preempted his humiliating loss by privately warning conservatives that he underestimated Judge Roy Moore's appeal and believes incumbent Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) is going to lose his primary bid.

According to Politico, Trump told asked the assembled conservative activists at the dinner "questions that suggested he remained hesitant about making his endorsement just hours before the polls opened."

“He went around the room and wanted to know what everyone thought,” American Conservative Union head Matt Schlapp, an attendee at the meeting, told Politico. In response, many told him they believed Moore will win.

“He was trying to figure out if there was going to be damage from this,” another attendee told Politico.

Four White House officials who spoke to Politico on condition of anonymity said the stress from the contentious race between Strange and Moore “frustrated and sometimes visibly annoyed" Trump, and he spoke frequently about the race since returning from his now-infamous “SOB” campaign rally for Strange last weekend.

Trump has reportedly been "resigned to a loss" for days, the report noted.