Former Alabama senator and attorney general Jeff Sessions has had a difficult time trying to re-take his Senate seat after President Donald Trump endorsed his opponent.
Now, Trump’s campaign is telling Sessions to stop tying himself to the president.
Trump’s campaign took issue with a mailer sent out by Sessions campaign, according to a copy of a letter from the Trump campaign to Sessions that was obtained by the New York Times. In the mailer, Sessions referenced the president 22 times.
But, Trump has endorsed former football coach Tommy Tuberville for the Alabama senate seat that is currently occupied by Sen. Doug Jones (D).
Trump campaign chief Michael Glassner wrote in a letter to Sessions, “The Trump campaign has learned that your U.S. Senate campaign is circulating mailers like the one I have enclosed, in which you misleadingly promote your connections to and ‘support’ of President Trump.”
“The letter even makes the delusional assertion that you are President ‘Trump’s #1 supporter,” Glassner added.
The letter continues:
“We only assume your campaign is doing this to confuse President Trump’s loyal supporters in Alabama into believing the president supports your candidacy in the upcoming primary runoff election. Nothing could be further from the truth […] President Trump and his campaign do not support your efforts to return to the U.S. Senate.”
When Sessions announced his senate bid, he did so with a video in which he positioned himself as a loyalist of the president, saying that he has never said a “cross” word about Trump and pointing out that he didn’t write a book after leaving the White House.
And even after Trump endorsed his opponent, Sessions went on Twitter and called himself “one of the architects of the Trump agenda,” and said “nothing the president can do will deter me from supporting this agenda.”
I'm one of the architects of the Trump agenda – I’ve always supported it and always will. Nothing the President can do will deter me from supporting this agenda, because my principles, just like my faith, are fundamental to who I am and immovable.
— Jeff Sessions (@jeffsessions) March 11, 2020
Alabama goes to the polls for their primary on July 14 after it was delayed over the coronavirus pandemic.