Sessions, Trump in Running Spat Over Alabama Senate Seat

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s former Attorney General Jeff Sessions took to Twitter to fire back at the president and his latest attempt to tip an Alabama Senate runoff election.

The president, though, has had the last word so far, saying Sessions should “drop out.”

Sessions took on Trump directly in a string of tweets late Friday and Saturday, saying he was right to recuse himself in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He also called the president’s favored candidate in the race a “coward.”

Sessions was responding to a tweet by Trump on Friday criticizing him for his 2017 recusal in the decision to appoint Robert Mueller as a special counsel to review allegations surrounding the election.

“Alabama, do not trust Jeff Sessions,” Trump said in his tweet. “He let our Country down. That’s why I endorsed Coach Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville), the true supporter of our #MAGA agenda!”

In the first of several tweets, Sessions replied that his recusal “was required by law. I did my duty & you’re damn fortunate I did.”

Tuberville, 65, a political novice and former football coach, topped Sessions in a close race in the March 3 primary to run as a Republican against Senator Doug Jones in November. Because neither man won more than 50% of the vote, they face a runoff on July 14.

Sessions, 73, was an early supporter of then-candidate Trump. He gave up his U.S. Senate seat after 20 years to join the Trump administration in early 2017, and was fired by the president in November 2018, one day after the mid-term election.

“Mr. President, Alabama can and does trust me, as do conservatives across the country,” Sessions said in another tweet. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten. They trusted me when I stepped out and put that trust on the line for you.”

Renewing his attacks on Saturday, Sessions went after Tuberville in a tweet also aimed at Trump.

“Tuberville’s a coward who is rightly too afraid to debate me,” Sessions said. “He says you’re wrong on China & trade. He wants to bring in even more foreign workers to take American jobs.”

Tuberville took on Sessions on Tuesday in an opinion article on the AL.com website. He said the former attorney general had “abandoned his president and fed him to the wolves.”

The president, who spent part of Saturday at his Virgnia golf course, returned to the fray in the early evening. “Jeff, you had your chance and blew it,” he tweeted. “You should drop out of the race.”

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