Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), one of the first lawmakers who endorsed Donald Trump, said in a recent interview that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) needs to back Trump as the Republican presidential nominee.
“I think he needs to recognize, on some of these issues, Trump is where the Republicans are and if you’re going to be a Republican leader you should be supportive of that,” Sessions said, referring to Ryan, on an interview with Politico’s “Off Message” podcast published Tuesday morning.
Sessions argued that Republican leaders need to accept the candidate chosen by Republican voters.
“My advice is to listen and accept the will of the American people, the Republican voters – the Republican Party is the Republican voters,” he said.
The senator later added that all party leaders typically “adjust to reality.”
“They just have to or they won’t remain in office,” Sessions said
He also told Politico that Trump is going to outperform former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney with minority voters because of his economic message.
“Trump is going to appeal better to African Americans, Hispanics, and others than previous Republican candidates because he’s talking about what they want: a fair chance to have a better life economically,” Sessions.
And during a discussion about Trump and race, Sessions argued that Trump’s calls for a wall along the United States’ border with Mexico will not turn off voters.
“I just don’t think there’s that many people who think it’s wrong to have control on our borders. That’s not racism,” he said. “It’s not racism to question some of the political correctness today that’s going on.”
