On the same day that a poll was released showing Tuberville with a 12-point lead in the Alabama Republican primary, Donald Trump decided to put his thumb on the scale and stick it to his former Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, virtually ending the primary.
Source: NBC News
President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed Jeff Sessions' rival in the Alabama Senate race.
"Coach Tommy Tuberville, a winner, has my Complete and Total Endorsement," Trump said of the former Auburn University football coach. "I love Alabama!"
The president tweeted that Tuberville "was a terrific head football coach" and "a REAL LEADER who will never let MAGA/KAG, or our Country, down!"
Trump's endorsement comes after Sessions and Tuberville finished neck and neck last week in a Republican primary race that featured a handful of candidates. As the top two finishers, Sessions, who formerly held this Alabama Senate seat before joining the Trump administration, and Tuberville will face off in a runoff on March 31 since no candidate collected more than 50 percent of the vote.
And the reaction was pretty much this from everybody, right and left.