# Trump nominates Jeff Sessions for AG **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 18, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327 "2016-11-18T15:27:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/81 "2017-06-07T01:21:37Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > And already Sessions has offered to resign: > > [Attorney General Jeff Sessions suggested he could resign amid rising tension with President Trump - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-suggested-resign-amid-rising/story?id=47875090) > > Surely if President Trump does someone the high honor of appointing him Attorney General the least he could do is to make any investigations of the President go away!!! Something tells me that General Beauregard is giving the Don a taste of his own medicine and seeing just how much balls (or stupidity) the “President” has. Beauregard’s already some kinda pissed at having his statue taken down in New Orleans and he just might be in a mood to knuckle up to the orange mobster. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/82 "2017-07-20T14:48:25Z")
Trump now regrets appointing him: > [@](#): > > President Trump said on Wednesday that he never would have appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions had he known Mr. Sessions would recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation that has dogged his presidency, calling the decision “very unfair to the president.” > > In a remarkable public break with one of his earliest political supporters, Mr. Trump complained that Mr. Sessions’s decision ultimately led to the appointment of a special counsel that should not have happened. “Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Mr. Trump said > **[Citing Recusal, Trump Says He Wouldn’t Have Hired Sessions (Published 2017)](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/politics/trump-interview-sessions-russia.html)** > > The president also said in an interview that Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, would cross a red line if he delved into Trump family finances unrelated to Russia. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/83 "2017-07-20T15:58:29Z")
To borrow the wit of a Slate commenter, “he never gave me any reason to believe he’d act ethically when I hired him!” ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/84 "2017-07-20T16:08:15Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > To borrow the wit of a Slate commenter, “he never gave me any reason to believe he’d act ethically when I hired him!” Sessions was supposed to sabotage ALL investigations, and be his flunky / fall guy. Sessions is still a dirt bag, but maybe he’s not as stupid as Rrump expected? When will all the leeches and traitors in Washington start to understand that Rrump demands total loyalty, but never returns loyalty. To him, people are just things to be used and tossed away. That is simply the way of the narcissistic sociopath type. They all need to understand that. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/85 "2017-07-20T16:23:26Z")
I thought Trump’s statements were very interesting - seems in Trump’s mind, Sessions’ only job was to head the Russia investigation. As an Alabama resident - even after Trump was elected, I didn’t think things could get so bad that Sessions looks like the good guy. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/86 "2017-07-20T16:48:26Z")
It is kind of funny all those articles about “Trump has a thing for loyalty”. Of course that’s bullshit. Yeah, Trump demands loyalty from his subordinates. But he never ever ever gives his loyalty back in return. Loyalty means “I stick by my friends and expect my friends to stick by me”. Trump has no interest in that kind of loyalty. What Trump has a thing for is subordination. But the subordination of his underlings to Trump creates no reciprocal obligation on Trump’s part. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/87 "2017-07-20T16:59:25Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I thought Trump’s statements were very interesting - seems in Trump’s mind, Sessions’ only job was to head the Russia investigation. More like “…head _ **off** _ the Russia investigation”. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/88 "2017-07-20T17:18:29Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I thought Trump’s statements were very interesting - seems in Trump’s mind, Sessions’ only job was to head the Russia investigation. > > As an Alabama resident - even after Trump was elected, I didn’t think things could get so bad **that Sessions looks like the good guy**. Don’t worry. He doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/89 "2017-07-20T18:41:31Z")
Obviously Trump thought an Attorney General was supposed to be like a _consigliere_. Or Saul Goodman. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/90 "2017-07-20T18:46:25Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > More like “…head _ **off** _ the Russia investigation”. If there’s really nothing there, as the loyalists insist, it will all be over very soon anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/91 "2017-07-21T13:44:30Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > What Trump has a thing for is subordination. Sessions, whose lack of self-respect makes Bella Swan look like Wonder Woman, is right up his alley. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/92 "2017-07-25T06:32:29Z")
> [@](#): > > President Donald Trump has spoken with advisers about firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions. > > Trump continues to rage against Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from all matters related to the Russia investigation. The president’s anger again bubbled into public view Monday as he referred to Sessions in a tweet as “beleaguered.” > > Privately, Trump has speculated aloud to allies in recent days about the potential consequences of firing Sessions. That’s according to three people who have recently spoken to the president and demanded anonymity to discuss private conversations. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/the-latest-trump-speaks-to-advisers-about-firing-sessions/2017/07/24/c595d108-70da-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/the-latest-trump-speaks-to-advisers-about-firing-sessions/2017/07/24/c595d108-70da-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014_story.html) ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/93 "2017-07-25T11:28:50Z")
It looks like General Beauregard will soon be forced to surrender and return home to Alabama where he can fix his attention on more important matters like preserving monuments in his name. What Trump’s supporters in Congress ought to take from this is that Trump is loyal to nobody, and he listens to nobody. There is absolutely no higher purpose in working with Trump. I point that out because a lot of people will join administrations knowing full well that they might disagree fundamentally with the president, but they do so presumably because they believe they have an opportunity to have at least some influence and that they can use this influence for the common good, or if not for the common good, for the good of whoever they feel they’re representing. With Trump, there is no chance to do that. Anybody who works for Trump will have to be a complete subordinate and do exactly what he says, and even then that might not be enough. Flynn found this out. Spicer found this out. Sessions is finding this out. Tillerson’s finding this out. McMaster is reportedly starting to get it. The broader message to the electorate as a whole is clear as well. Just because you’re a conservative and just because you supported Trump in no way means you’re safe. His policies will screw you just as much as they will screw liberals, and if you dare to challenge him, you will become an enemy just as much as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Megyn Kelly. Memo to Middle America: he does not give a single drop of rat’s piss about you. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/94 "2017-07-25T11:41:26Z")
This is . . . unreal. Trump’s arrogance beggars belief. “If I had known Sessions would insist on observing professional ethics, I never would have hired him!” ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/95 "2017-07-25T12:13:24Z")
I think the plan is to wait until the Senate is in recess, then fire Sessions and find a toadie to replace him with as a recess appointment. McConnell always made sure to leave the Senate in pro forma session to prevent Obama from making recess appointments, but I’m sure he won’t do the same for his good buddy Don The Con. ---
**Author:** ![Crybaby\_Boobie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crybaby_boobie/32/545_2.png) [@Crybaby\_Boobie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crybaby_Boobie)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/96 "2017-07-25T12:34:58Z")
I personally love that the person who is doing the beleaguering is complaining that Sessions is beleaguered. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/97 "2017-07-25T12:59:19Z")
I’m a bit conflicted about Sessions’ predicament. On the one hand, I think he’s a fine man and is of the highest integrity, and it’s unfortunate that he has to deal with this type of thing. Especially as he gave up a safe Senate seat for what looks like a short and beleaguered tenure as SOS. OTOH, the only reason he’s where he is now is because he was an early supporter of Trump. So he’s partially responsible for this whole mess to begin with, let alone his own situation. You feel like asking him “so, do you _still_ think Trump is the right guy to be president?” ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/98 "2017-07-25T13:15:39Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I’m a bit conflicted about Sessions’ predicament. > > On the one hand, I think he’s a fine man and is of the highest integrity, and it’s unfortunate that he has to deal with this type of thing. Especially as he gave up a safe Senate seat for what looks like a short and beleaguered tenure as SOS. > > OTOH, the only reason he’s where he is now is because he was an early supporter of Trump. So he’s partially responsible for this whole mess to begin with, let alone his own situation. You feel like asking him “so, do you _still_ think Trump is the right guy to be president?” This “fine man” was deemed too racist to become a federal judge. If he was a fine man he wouldn’t have been the first to endorse such a worthless piece of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/99 "2017-07-25T13:24:06Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > This “fine man” was deemed too racist to become a federal judge. I’m aware of all that, but not interesting in arguing about it at this time. > [@](#): > > If he was a fine man he wouldn’t have been the first to endorse such a worthless piece of shit. Fine people make mistakes. Sometimes very foolish ones. Nonetheless, everyone else has to live with the consequences of Trump’s election, so if Sessions has to live with even more consequences than most he kind of has it coming, as I see it. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327/100 "2017-07-25T13:32:58Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > This is . . . unreal. > > Trump’s arrogance beggars belief. “If I had known Sessions would insist on observing professional ethics, I never would have hired him!” I know you’re changing the quote for comic effect, but this isn’t arrogance. It’s ignorance. Trump doesn’t fully understand the ethics and civics of the situation he’s in. This is what you get when you try to run a government like a business; a government isn’t a business, and the ethics of how the President is supposed to deal with other parties are actually quite complex, filled with not just written rules but a lot of constitutional tradition, nuance, and understanding of the roles a person is supposed to play. Trump has never operated at this level before. He’s a career businessman - and not even a REALLY important one, indeed not even the most important one in his own Cabinet - where there are only three kinds of people; your employees, your customers, and your competitors. Trump struggles to understand the fact that Jeff Sessions is none of those things; he is not exactly Trump’s employee, nor his customer, nor his competitor. But Trump feels he must be one of those things, because those are the only people he truly understands. He can only understand himself as The Boss Of The Company, which is a stupid, simplistic and wrong way to interpret the job of President. If you look at Trump’s comments through the lens of “customer, competitor, or employee,” his attitude towards Sessions, or anyone else, suddenly jumps into focus. It explains his weird, I-love-you-now-I-hate-you attitude towards allied foreign leaders; he cannot understand them as anything other than a Competitor (bad) or a Customer (good.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-nominates-jeff-sessions-for-ag/772327.md?page=6)