Jeff Sessions Hits Back at Trump Insults, Endorsement of AL Senate Primary Opponent: ‘You’re Damn Fortunate’ I Recused
Photo credit: Shawn Thew, Getty Images.
Former Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired back at his former boss on Twitter on Friday night after the president slammed Sessions as untrustworthy and endorsed his opponent in the Alabama Senate Republican primary runoff.
Earlier in the evening, Trump’s Twitter feed began rolling out a long series of pro forma fundraising tweets endorsing Republican House and Senate primary candidates. The language in almost all of them was a rote litany of conservative orthodoxy.
But when Trump got to the Alabama Senate GOP runoff election between Sessions and former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, the president’s tone changed markedly and he let loose his still white-hot, vindictive, bitterness over Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from the investigation into the firing of FBI Director James Comey in 2017. Referring to the “Fraudulent Mueller Scam,” Trump said Sessions “let our Country down” by recusing.
3 years ago, after Jeff Sessions recused himself, the Fraudulent Mueller Scam began. Alabama, do not trust Jeff Sessions. He let our Country down. That’s why I endorsed Coach Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville), the true supporter of our #MAGA agenda! https://t.co/pCi7jftce2 https://t.co/sAn1VbxNwc
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 22, 2020
Hours later, Sessions responded. But, notably the former AG pushed back much more forcefully than the “humiliating,” pro-Trump campaign ad he was mocked for releasing last fall. Instead, Sessions said Trump was “damn fortunate” he recused, crediting his own decision as having “protected the rule of law” that ultimately “resulted in your exoneration.” He added: “Your personal feelings don’t dictate who Alabama picks as their senator, the people of Alabama do.”
.@realdonaldtrump Look, I know your anger, but recusal was required by law. I did my duty & you’re damn fortunate I did. It protected the rule of law & resulted in your exoneration. Your personal feelings don’t dictate who Alabama picks as their senator, the people of Alabama do. https://t.co/QQKHNAgmiE
— Jeff Sessions (@jeffsessions) May 23, 2020
Still, Sessions couldn’t help himself and, in a reply to his own quote of Trump’s tweet, he again tried to embrace the president who just humiliated him while knocking Tuberville’s stance on immigration. “That’s not your agenda and it’s not mine,” Sessions wrote.
Tuberville’s a coward who is rightly too afraid to debate me. He says you’re wrong on China & trade. He wants to bring in even more foreign workers to take American jobs. That’s not your agenda and it’s not mine or Alabama’s. I know Alabama. Tuberville doesn’t.
— Jeff Sessions (@jeffsessions) May 23, 2020
