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Jeff Sessions just made clear that if Trump wants him gone, he'll have to fire him

Jeff Sessions
Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has called President Donald Trump's weeklong rant against him "hurtful" and said that if the president "wants to make a change, he can certainly do so."

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Sessions addressed Trump's attacks on him in an interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Thursday night.

"It's kind of hurtful, but the president of the United States is a strong leader," Sessions said. "He is determined to move this country in the direction that he believes it needs to go to make it great again.

"And he has had a lot of criticism and he's steadfast determined to get his job done and he wants all of us to do our job, and that's what I intend to do," Sessions continued.

When Carlson started to ask whether Sessions would continue to run the Justice Department, Sessions responded that he served "at the pleasure of the president."

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"If he wants to make a change, he can certainly do so, and I would be glad to yield in that circumstance — no doubt about it," Sessions said. "But I do believe that we're making tremendous progress."

Sessions has been a frequent target of Trump's since an interview with The New York Times last week in which the president expressed disappointment that Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation. It kicked off a multiday campaign by Trump against Sessions on Twitter, where Trump referred to Sessions as "beleaguered" and criticized his decisions at the Justice Department.

"Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers," Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

Trump declined to speculate on the future of Sessions' position as the nation's top law-enforcement official during a Tuesday news conference.

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"I'm very disappointed with the attorney general, but we will see what happens," Trump said. "Time will tell. Time will tell."

Tucker Carlson Jeff Sessions Donald Trump
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