President Donald Trump, speaking during an unscripted event before House Republicans Tuesday night, reportedly inquired about the U.S. Senate race in Alabama, according to a report by Politico.

He acknowledged the national media reports that his former attorney general, Jeff Sessions, might seek his old Senate seat during next year’s elections. Sessions has long been one of Trump’s consistent foils after the former Alabama senator recused himself from the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian meddling during the 2016 presidential election.

“Question for Gary Palmer: who is gonna win Alabama? Don’t tell me Sessions. Is it gonna be the coach?” Trump is reported as saying. His reference to “the coach” is former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville, who is running in a crowded Republican primary that will take place on March 3, 2020. The winner of the GOP contest will face off against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones. A representative for Palmer did not provide an immediate response.

A spokesman with the Tuberville campaign said Sessions is “one of the very reasons why” the former football coach decided to run for the Senate.

“Alabama is not interested in recycling career politicians that have proven they aren’t tough enough to stand with President Trump," the spokesman said. "President Trump has said that Jeff Sessions was a total disaster and an embarrassment to Alabama. Jeff Sessions is one of the very reasons why Coach Tuberville decided to run for the United States Senate - we need a conservative outsider that will have President Trump’s back.”

According to an account in The Hill, Trump asked the Alabama lawmakers who they felt would win the Senate race in Alabama. According to U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, “Bradley Byrne.”

Sessions’ name has surfaced as a possible late entry into the race for the GOP nomination to the Senate. According to national media reports, the former Alabama Senator -- who served from 1997 to 2017 -- has been reaching out to his former Alabama congressional colleagues as he mulls a potential run for the Senate seat.

The deadline in Alabama to file to run for election next year is Friday, Nov. 8.

Longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby said Tuesday he would endorse Sessions if he decides to get into the race.

Jones, during a conference call with representatives of the media in Alabama, declined to comment.

The friction between Trump and Sessions will certainly be a campaign issue if Sessions decides to run for Senate. It was recognized by the Republican hopefuls for Senate earlier this week. Tuberville has been one of the more forceful, saying that if Alabama voters want to support an outsider who will stand with Trump and fight back against the “D.C establishment,” then he was their choice.

“Jeff Sessions had a chance to stand and defend the President and he failed,” Tuberville said in Tuesday’s statement.

Some political analysts predict that if Sessions gets into the Senate race, he will be disparaged by the president on Twitter or publicly during one of the president’s campaign rallies.

Brent Buchanan, a Montgomery-based pollster, said it could be a difficult issue for Sessions given Trump’s popularity in Alabama. According to Morning Consult, the president carries a +22-point approval rating in Alabama which is highest of any state in the country.

“Sessions would instantly be in first place in the GOP primary, but I’m not sure he could hold that because of his tift with the very popular President Trump," said Buchanan.

If Sessions enters the race and wins the primary. political analysts are unsure how Trump will handle the Alabama Senate race. .

“If Jeff Sessions wins the Republican nomination and Trump does anything in the general election to hurt his chances of winning, it will show again that Trump is petty, vindictive, and selfish,” said Quin Hillyer, a Mobile-based conservative writer and frequent Trump critic. “Even if Trump lives down to those character traits, though, I would expect Sessions to defeat Jones, who has voted in ways significantly too liberal for Alabama.”

Jess Brown, a retired political science professor at Athens State University, said he could see a scenario in which Shelby or Senate Majority Mitch McConnell reach out to Trump and push for the president to back down from criticizing Sessions.

“I sense if a Shelby and a McConnell turn to Trump and say, ‘we like him’ or ‘we have to keep control of the Senate’ and so forth, I think maybe they are able to provide Sessions with more cover than you think,” said Brown. “Trump may have a special heartburn about him but surely he wouldn’t want to start to weaken the Republican nominee in the general election for the Senate seat. He will play it (instead) during the primary.”

This story was updated at 1:20 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019, to include additional information about the Trump meeting with House Republicans from an article written in The Hill.