Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions' early endorsement of Donald Trump's presidential bid had more to do with wooing home state voters than supporting the candidate's agenda, the president said today.

"When they say he endorsed me, I went to Alabama," Trump told the Wall-Street Journal. "I had 40,000 people. He was a senator from Alabama. I won the state by a lot, massive numbers. A lot of the states I won by massive numbers. But he was a senator, he looks at 40,000 people and he probably says, 'What do I have to lose?' And he endorsed me.

"So it's not like a great loyal thing about the endorsement. But I'm very disappointed in Jeff Sessions," Trump added.

The comments are the latest directed at the long-time Trump ally and first Senator to endorse his presidential bid. Last week Trump said he would not have nominated Sessions to serve as Attorney General if he'd known he planned to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. In recent days, Trump has referred to Sessions as "beleaguered" and "weak."

Sessions endorsement

In 2015, Sessions made a campaign appearance in Mobile with Trump in a massive rally that drew upwards of 20,000 people. At the time, Trump referred to Sessions as a "great politician."

Sessions went on to endorse Trump during a February 2016 rally in Madison that city officials said was attended by about 25,000 people. At the time, Trump said Sessions endorsement "means a lot to me."

"That's a biggie," Trump said during the rally. "He's never, ever done it before."

Sessions went on to stump for Trump at rallies across the country and speak at the Republican National Convention before being nominated for Attorney General.

After nominating Sessions for the AG post, a statement from the White House said the president was "unbelievably impressed with Senator Sessions and his phenomenal record as Alabama's Attorney General and U.S. Attorney.

"It is no wonder the people of Alabama re-elected him without opposition," the statement added.

Sessions, who ran unopposed in 2014, received 97 percent of votes cast in the state.

The president's sentiments changed after Sessions recused himself from the Russian investigation, clearing the way for special counselor Robert Mueller to investigate Moscow's role in the election and any possible connections to the Trump campaign. This week, Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law was questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee, a move that seemed to push tensions between the White House and Sessions to a boiling point.

"I'm just looking at it," the president told the Wall Street Journal when asked how long he could criticize Sessions without firing him. "I'll just see. It's a very important thing."