New York Times
By Ashley Parker and Matt Felgenheimer
February 28, 2016
Donald
J. Trump unveiled his first Senate endorsement at a rally here Sunday
night, bringing Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama up onstage with him and
praising him as “really
the expert as far as I’m concerned on borders.”
Mr.
Sessions is known for his virulent opposition to the immigration bill
that passed the Senate in 2013, which included a path to citizenship for
the undocumented immigrants
already in the country, and Mr. Trump has made a tough stance on
immigration a pillar of his campaign.
“I
told Donald Trump, this isn’t a campaign, this is a movement,” Mr.
Sessions said, looking out over the crowd of thousands. “Look at what’s
happened.”
In a statement, Mr. Trump said he was honored to have Mr. Sessions’s support.
“He
led the fight against the Gang of Eight, against Obama’s trade deal,
against Obama’s judges, and for American sovereignty,” Mr. Trump said in
his statement. “He has
stood up to special interests as few have. There is no more respected
man in Congress and we are closely aligned on many issues, including
trade and illegal immigration, and I am proud to consider Jeff Sessions
an adviser, friend and ally.”
Alabama
is one of the states that heads to the polls on Tuesday, and Mr.
Sessions’s endorsement comes as Mr. Trump has begun to consolidate more
establishment support
behind his bid. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, previously one of
Mr. Trump’s rivals for the nomination, endorsed him on Friday, and last
week the real estate billionaire picked up the support of two House
Republicans.
The
endorsement was a major blow to Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who has long
counted Mr. Sessions among his few allies in the Senate. On the
campaign trail, he has invoked
Mr. Sessions repeatedly as a partner in stifling immigration
legislation in 2013 — an episode that is central to Mr. Cruz’s argument
against Mr. Trump’s signature issue.
On Sunday, as news of the endorsement trickled out, Mr. Cruz, who had publicly wooed Mr. Sessions, declined to weigh in.
“I’ll
wait to comment on endorsements until they actually happen rather than
to comment on speculation of endorsements,” he told reporters in
Oklahoma City.
Both
Mr. Rubio and Mr. Sessions discussed securing the nation’s borders and
immigration in their remarks, and the endorsement also highlights the
weakness of Senator Marco
Rubio, who was a co-author of the controversial Senate bill, with the
Republican base just two days before voters head to the polls in a
string of conservative Southern states.
The
news also serves as a boost to Mr. Trump as he is coming under the most
sustained paid media assault of his candidacy, and as he has made a
series of stumbles, including
declining to denounce support from David Duke, a former leader of the
Ku Klux Klan, and to disavow a quote from Benito Mussolini that he
promoted on his Twitter account.
There
were signs that Mr. Sessions was impressed with Mr. Trump, especially
on the issue of immigration. The Alabama Senator appeared with Mr. Trump
at one of his early
rallies, and in January, Stephen Miller, a top aide to Mr. Sessions in
the Senate, left to join Mr. Trump’s campaign as a senior policy
advisor.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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