On Tuesday, Donald Trump won another big primary in New York, further extending his lead over his opponents, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Based on Tuesday’s results, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, Trump’s only Senate endorsement, says he believes it is becoming almost impossible for anyone but Trump to win the Republican nomination this summer.
“It’ll be hard for any of these candidates to argue, it seems to me, they should leap over somebody that clobbered them in a big state like New York, especially when they have fewer delegates and fewer votes nationwide,” Sessions said.
Trump’s Big Apple victory brought his delegate count to 845, just 392 shy of the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination at the Republican National Convention. Ted Cruz currently has 559 delegates, and John Kasich trails far behind with 147.
Sessions also said that it would be easier for Bernie Sanders to take the Democratic nomination from Hillary Clinton with fewer delegates than it would be for Cruz or Kasich to take the Republican nomination from Trump. The New York businessman’s lead over his opponents is far greater than Clinton’s current lead over Sanders.
After publicly endorsing Trump in February, Sen. Sessions has become increasingly involved in the billionaire real estate mogul’s campaign. Shortly after his endorsement, Sessions was named the Chairman of Trump’s National Security Advisory Committee, and he was rumored to be in the running for Trump’s Vice Presidential pick. Sessions quickly denied those rumors, saying, “I think that would not happen. I have not talked with him about it.”
Sen. Sessions has called for Republicans to unite behind Trump, calling the campaign a “movement.” As other Republicans look for ways to take the nomination away from Trump, Sessions has remained the billionaire’s most prominent supporter.
Sessions says he has faith in Trump’s campaign team to secure the nomination. He recently met with Paul Manafort, a veteran campaign operative who joined the Trump team to retool the operation to better prepare for a contested convention.
“The campaign team has done a magnificent job to date, but I do think that [Manafort’s] experience in presidential campaigns is a very positive addition to the Trump efforts,” Sessions said. “He had a good visit yesterday on the Hill. He [met] three different groups of House members, and I think those went well.”
“I think the hire of Manafort also signals an expansion of the number of people, just because so many people are calling in, you can’t even return the calls … as small as they were to begin with,” Sessions continued. “This is a national movement, I think.”
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