WASHINGTON — Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions (R) held an impromptu meeting Wednesday with GOP frontrunner Donald Trump after the candidate’s rally in DC decrying President Obama’s deal with Iran.
During their encounter, Sessions said they discussed the role of immigration in stagnating wages for middle and working class Americans.
“Wages are lower today than in 1973. We accumulated $442 billion in trade deficits last year alone,” said Sessions. “The Census bureau projects that new immigration into the U.S. will break all known records”
“Countless Americans, including millions of African-American and Hispanic workers, are hurting. The record admission of new foreign workers, combined with a weak trade policy that sends our jobs overseas, have decimated middle class incomes. But America’s global elites continue to push trade and immigration policies that further reduce wages, increase joblessness and destabilize our communities.”
Sessions praised Trump for his willingness to take on special interests during his campaign thus far.
“Mr. Trump has outlined trade and immigration policies that serve the national interest, not the special interests,” Sessions continued. “Anyone who wants to sit in the Oval Office must promote trade and immigration plan that improve jobs and wages for Americans.”
According to a recent nationwide poll from SurveyUSA, Trump narrowly leads all Democrats, even garnering support from 25 percent of African-Americans and 31 percent of Hispanics against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Long considered a conservative populist, Sessions has pressured the Republican party in recent years to increase its appeal to working class Americans by focusing on small businesses and limiting immigration while employment and wages recover.
Sessions hasn’t formally endorsed any candidate, but his praise for Trump will likely cause many conservatives to give the billionaire businessman a second look.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
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