Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions urged Republicans on Sunday to pause and think carefully about what’s at stake this election cycle instead of rushing to denounce Donald Trump over his lewd comments about women.
“It’s a pile on, full-fledged attack on him,” Sessions, the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump, told Fox News. “I think our Republican colleagues need to take a deep breath here and slow down.”
“This is the kind of thing we need to evaluate,” he added, claiming the recent audio tapes of Trump bragging about his sexual pursuit of a married woman in graphic terms are “not the end of the game.”
In the leaked audio from an off-camera conversation between Trump and then-“Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush in 2005, the Republican presidential nominee can be heard saying: “I’m automatically attracted to beautiful [women] — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet … I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything … Grab them by the p—-y. You can do anything.”
At least 16 Republican lawmakers have rejected Trump after hearing the audio tapes, and in some cases called on him to step down as their party’s nominee. Several of Sessions’ colleagues, including Sens. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), John Thune (S.D.), Dan Sullivan (Alaska) and Cory Gardner (Colo.), among others, have rescinded their endorsements or urged Trump to exit the race.
Sessions said Trump needs to deliver a stellar performance in the second presidential debate Sunday evening and “return to his [supporters] and make sure they understand who he is.”
