Washington (CNN) When Jeff Sessions announced Thursday night that he planned to run for his old Senate seat in 2020, he had a very simple message to convey: He still really, really likes Donald Trump. Like, a lot.

"When I left President Trump's Cabinet, did I write a tell-all book? No. Did I go on CNN and attack the President? Nope," Sessions said in a video released by his campaign . "Have I said a cross word about President Trump? Not one time. And I'll tell you why: First, that would be dishonorable. I was there to serve his agenda, not mine. Second, the President is doing a great job for America and Alabama, and he has my strong support."

And then, later in the announcement video, Sessions added this:

"When President Trump took on Washington, only one senator out of 100 had the courage to stand with him: me. I was the first to support President Trump. I was his strongest advocate. I still am."

That level of craven sycophancy would be awkward under any circumstances. But, it's even harder to stomach when you consider that Trump spent much of Sessions' tenure as attorney general running down the Alabama Republicans as dumb and disloyal.

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