Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., has been through a lot with President Trump. The Billy Bush tape. The first 100 days. The Russia saga. Occasionally critical but always reliable, Duffy has been one of the president’s most loyal supporters.
Duffy cannot, however, understand the merciless bullying Trump has been giving to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“If I’m mad at my wife and we’re feuding and we’re laying in bed together, I don’t tweet at her,” Duffy says, mixing matrimony with politics. “I say ‘Honey, I’m pissed off.’ Sessions works for Trump. You can call him in for a cup of coffee, you can fire him, you can give him a call. What the hell are you doing?”
Of course, it’s clear why Trump is angry at Sessions. He didn’t want the attorney general to recuse himself from the Russian investigations. What’s puzzling is the president’s decision to act like a jealous boyfriend trying to end a relationship by browbeating his date.
There have been passive aggressive tweets, off-the-cuff comments, and plenty of blame-shifting.
But while Sessions will only say the criticism is “kind of hurtful,” Duffy complains that it has thrown Republicans off balance and helps the Left “drive the Russia story.”
“There’s a smarter way to handle these disagreements than doing them publicly,” he says. “It makes the White House look petty.”
Of course, Duffy holds out hope that perhaps the president has another goal in mind. “Trump has been incredibly effective in the way that he communicates,” he hedges. “There must be a larger plan that he has. We will see it develop over the next weeks or months for Sessions.”
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
