MADISON, Alabama — 2016 GOP presidential frontrunner
billionaire Donald Trump will pick up the most significant endorsement any
presidential candidate in the GOP can get here on Sunday:
WATCH VIDEO Sunday, February 28, 2016: At a campaign rally in front of over 30,000 people in Madison, AL, Donald Trump was endorsed by U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama.
Stunning Event Unites Populist and Nationalist Movement
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) Sessions, the
intellectual leader of the future of the conservative movement, has provided
the brainpower behind the populist nationalist revolt against political elites
that’s been emerging since at least 2013.
At a warm and windy rally here with thousands present in a
packed football stadium just outside Huntsville, Sessions will appear on stage
with Trump to back him for president. Sessions’ endorsement provides Trump with
even more legitimacy as Trump’s two remaining serious opponents—Sens.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) —attempt to undermine him in a
desperate bid by the donor class to regain control of the party from populists
revolting in elections around the country. Sessions backing Trump is a
significant blow to both Rubio and Cruz, as now the powerful Alabamian will be
putting his entire operation all in behind Trump.
Sessions’ backing is the latest and highest-profile in a string
of significant endorsements for Trump’s rebel campaign. New Jersey Gov. Chris
Christie, after dropping out of the race himself despite landing significant
blows on Rubio in the final debate before New Hampshire’s primaries, backed
Trump this week, as did Maine Gov. Paul LePage and former Arizona Gov. Jan
Brewer, as well as Reps. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY)
But all those endorsements pale in comparison to Sessions’
backing of Trump, as the Alabamian senator is universally respected—and
feared—inside the beltway in Washington. Sessions is known for his tough views
on immigration and trade and has repeatedly aimed to push the Republican Party
in a more populist, nationalist direction. Sessions has helped frame the
movement’s views on both issues—and more, like courts and judicial nominations,
law and order and police matters, and on budgetary issues and the fiscal
well-being of America—while maintaining a formidable political and policy
operation that his allies view as invaluable and his enemies dread.
Sessions is the most highly sought-after endorsement because of
his respect party-wide, and he’s been cited by Cruz especially frequently on
the campaign trail. He has appeared with Cruz at events in Alabama, and with Trump in
Mobile five hours south of here earlier in the
cycle. He has also helped many of the GOP candidates, including Cruz and Trump,
craft their policy positions and has been—alongside his numerous allies on
Capitol Hill in the House and Senate—a driving force in framing the populist nationalist
future of the Republican Party.
