Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is headed to a runoff in the GOP Alabama Senate primary after failing to reach a majority on Tuesday – and his old boss is delighted.
“This is what happens to someone who loyally gets appointed Attorney General of the United States & then doesn’t have the wisdom or courage to stare down & end the phony Russia Witch Hunt,” President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning. “Recuses himself on FIRST DAY in office, and the Mueller Scam begins!” (Sessions did not recuse himself until March 2017.)
The attack is a big slap in the face for Sessions: Not only did the former attorney general say last year that he’s “certainly going to hope” Trump endorses him, but he also claimed the President had told him he would, at the very least, hold his fire as Sessions tries to reclaim his old seat.
“He said he’s not going to attack me in the race,” Sessions said during a Fox News interview.
Now he’s going to face primary rival Tommy Tuberville in a runoff after reaching 31.1 percent of the vote to Tuberville’s 32.2 percent, per Politico.
The White House would not respond on the record when asked if Trump’s comment meant he would not endorse Sessions if he ran head-to-head against Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) in the general election.
The Sessions campaign did not immediately responded to TPM’s request for comment.
