Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions was the first sitting senator to endorse Donald Trump and has steadfastly supported the presumptive Republican presidential nominee ever since. But even he admitted Wednesday that Trump’s attacks on a federal judge’s Mexican heritage left him a bit perturbed.
“Well, it would’ve been nice if … that had not been said, for sure,” Sessions told NBC’s Hallie Jackson.
Sessions, who chairs Trump’s foreign policy advisory committee, quickly added that it’s apparent Trump “feels strongly” about the lawsuit that U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel is presiding over.
“He feels like it’s an unjust proceeding and he should prevail,” Sessions said. “But now [Trump] said he’s going to let his lawyer handle it and he’s not going to be continuing to comment it and I think that’s probably a good decision.”
Nevertheless, the Alabama Republican indicated he was sad to see his colleague, Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, rescind his support for Trump on Tuesday over the billionaire’s comments about Curiel.
“I was disappointed in that,” Sessions told the Washington Examiner. “Sen. Kirk is an independent person [and] he can make up his own mind, but I think it’s critically important that Donald Trump get elected president and the gap between him and Hillary Clinton’s agenda would have an extraordinary impact on Americans for years to come.”
“We should be happy that we have a candidate who’s not only appealing to Republicans, but also to independents and Democrats,” he added.
