Sen. Jeff Sessions Tuesday said Donald Trump has the ability to expand the Republican Party, contradicting those who claim Trump’s tough talk on immigration will stymie efforts to “expand the tent.”
“I think, indeed, he is reaching people that we have to have come into our party. They’re working Americans of all stripes,” Sessions said. “These are people who make below $50,000 a year, the country isn’t doing well for them right now. People may be getting rich in Wall Street, but not the average worker. But, he’s appealing to them. A lot of them have been going over to Democrats, but they can be brought back and, they say we need to expand the tent, I think he’s expanding the tent in that regard.”
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Sessions, who is neutral in the race, said lower-skilled, lower-income workers are particularly vulnerable to competition from mass immigration, Trump’s key issue. The United States is on track to have the highest percentage of foreign-born residents in its history, he said. “Americans will support immigration, but the numbers are too large, and the legislation that came forward was a disaster, in my opinion,” he said.
Sessions rejected the off-repeated Establishment theory that moderate candidates are needed in order to win elections. The track record on that is not very convincing, he said. He added that this year’s presidential election is crucial not only for immigration but also trade.
“If this election doesn’t work for the people, it may be the last chance,” he said. “It really could be the last chance to fix immigration and to put our trade policy on a path to lead us to success in the future.”
Sessions tore apart Sen. Marco Rubio’s efforts to portray Sen. Ted Cruz as no better than Rubio on immigration, saying unequivocally that Cruz was with him in opposition to the bill while Rubio was promoting it.
“He was with me, and this bill was moving with great momentum, and it went to the House and almost passed the House,” Sessions said. “Ted opposed the bill. This is one of the things that frustrates me. Ted Cruz opposed this bill. He stood with me. And those that promoted it really were in error.”
Rubio, of course, not only supported the bill but helped write it. His participation in the so-called Gang of Eight effort has proved to be a major liability with Republican voters as he seeks the party’s nomination for president. A tactic he has used again and again to blunt Cruz has been to point to statements and proposed amendments from the Texas senator in favor of increased legal immigration.
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“We offered a number of amendments, and those amendments were designed to highlight problems with the bill and to expose the positions of those advancing the bill,” Sessions said, pointing specifically to a proposed amendment that would have granted legal status but not citizenship to illegal immigrants.
In the end, Sessions noted, he and Cruz were on the same side. “He didn’t vote for the bill,” he said. “He voted against the bill like I did.”
Rubio? Not so much.
“He was the promoter of it,” he said. “He was the salesperson for the Republican Party to advance the bill that was written in secret by the special interest groups, so I assume he believed what was in the bill.”
That’s not to say Cruz has not evolved, Sessions said. He said Cruz did, in fact, support expanding the number of high-skilled guest workers admitted into the country.
“I think he has learned, and others are learning, we don’t have the jobs to give to immigrants and to Americans,” he said. “We don’t have enough jobs for the American people now. We don’t need to be surging those numbers … I think he’s moved on that as he’s learned more about it. He was new to the Senate.”
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