Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus doesn’t want President Trump to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions but said Trump’s mind is already made up about the embattled Alabamian.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Priebus said Sunday Trump’s constant criticisms of Sessions — renewed in public this week in a series of tweets — are not helping his administration.
“It is a problem, and I don’t think that it would be good for the president for Attorney General Sessions to leave, but I also think the president has made up his mind about how he feels about the recusal,” Priebus said. “He feels that was the first sin, the original sin, he feels slighted by it and he’s not going to let it go.”
Sessions recused himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin a year ago. The decision was sparked by Sessions not being entirely forthright about the extent of his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during his confirmation hearings.
Trump was reportedly angered by Sessions’ decision because he thought his attorney general would work to defend him from collusion accusations. When Sessions recused himself, Trump felt he had been betrayed, Priebus said.
Now, any time something bad happens Trump thinks of Sessions, he said.
“He’s a person who doesn’t really pull a punch,” Priebus said.
“For better or worse, that’s what you have and I go back to the results. That’s the American people knew and they voted for him, and he’s doing a great job.”
