With the Alabama Republican primary run-off election only days away, Jeff Sessions has decided to hit back at President Donald Trump after he once again weighed in and bashed his former attorney general in the process.
“Big Senate Race in Alabama on Tuesday. Vote for @TTuberville, he is a winner who will never let you down. Jeff Sessions is a disaster who has let us all down. We don’t want him back in Washington,” said Trump.
Sessions, who was then-candidate Trump’s first senatorial endorsement, blasted the president for engaging in “juvenile insults” and backing a “cowardly” candidate.
I’ve taken the road less travelled. Not sought fame or fortune. My honor and integrity are far more important than these juvenile insults. Your scandal ridden candidate is too cowardly to debate. As you know, Alabama does not take orders from Washington. https://t.co/1I6ROih43E
— Jeff Sessions (@jeffsessions) July 11, 2020
“I’ve taken the road less travelled. Not sought fame or fortune. My honor and integrity are far more important than these juvenile insults. Your scandal ridden candidate is too cowardly to debate. As you know, Alabama does not take orders from Washington,” Sessions told Trump.
Although Sessions has served in the senate for two decades, Alabama voters have responded more favorably to Tuberville in recent polling.
According to Auburn University at Montgomery, 47% of Republican voters favor Tuberville, while 31% favor Sessions less than a week from the election. Twenty-two percent of Republican voters, however, remain undecided. The Alabama Daily News reported that Tuberville held a 23% lead over Sessions back in mid-May, while at the same time, the Sessions campaign’s internal polling showed him behind Tuberville by 6 points.
Back in May, Trump tweeted that his support of Tuberville was rooted in his distrust of Sessions, who recused himself from the Russia investigation, and also said that his former attorney general’s actions at the time “let our country down.”
Sessions responded: “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.”
.@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
The former Alabama senator also accused Tuberville of not fully believing in the president’s agenda, including with his stances on trade, China, and foreign workers. The following day, Sessions once again responded to the president to share his belief that Alabamans still trust him. Trump, in turn, told him to drop out of the race and “pray that super liberal” Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) is beaten in November.