Graham tells Sessions: ‘Just hang in there’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he called Attorney General Jeff Sessions to offer his support after President Trump’s repeated criticism.

Graham said he thinks a lot of people have been speaking their mind regarding Trump’s attacks on Sessions.

“I’m very pleased with how our colleagues are rising to the occasion,” Graham told Politico Wednesday.

{mosads}”I called Jeff yesterday morning when I saw the tweets and said, ‘Jeff, I’m sorry, you just hang in there. A lot of us will have your back,’ and he really appreciated it. … It was me calling him and I read him my statement. He said, ‘That meant a lot to me.’”

Trump in recent days has been targeting Sessions.

Last week, he said during an interview that he likely would not have chosen Sessions as attorney general if he had known he was going to recuse himself from the Justice Department’s Russia investigation.

Earlier this week, Trump refused to say if he would fire Sessions, saying only that “time will tell.” 

Several Republicans have since come to Sessions’s defense.

On Wednesday, Graham said he thinks Trump is showing “weakness” by trying to pressure Sessions to quit.

“The president is trying to not use his power. He’s trying to get Sessions to quit, and I hope Sessions doesn’t quit. If the president wants to fire him, fire him,” Graham told CNN.

Asked if he believes the president is “demonstrating weakness” by taking this approach, Graham responded, “Absolutely.”