Jeff Sessions told the Associated Press that he plans to stay on as attorney general for as long as President Donald Trump will have him, despite it not having been the "best week" in their relationship. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo Sessions: Trump's attacks on me are 'hurtful'

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's attacks on him are "hurtful," but that he still believes the president is a "strong leader."

Asked by Fox News whether he thinks the president's criticisms of him are fair, Sessions responded, "Well, it kind of is hurtful. But the president of the United States is a strong leader."


Sessions added, "He is determined to move this country in the direction he believes it needs to go to make us great again. And he's had a lot of criticisms, and he's steadfastly determined to get his job done, and he wants all of us to do our jobs and that's what I intend to do."

Trump has been making disparaging comments about Sessions on Twitter, in interviews and in public for days, saying that he is “disappointed” that the attorney general recused himself from the Justice Department’s ongoing Russia probe.

But Trump has not moved to fire him, and so far Sessions has resisted quitting.

In a separate interview from El Salvador, Sessions told The Associated Press that he plans to stay on as attorney general as long as Trump will have him, despite it not having been the “best week” in their relationship.

“I serve at the pleasure of the president,” he told the AP, noting that Trump had the right to choose someone else to the lead the Justice Department. “I’ve understood that from the day I took the job.”

The AP reported that while Sessions said this week has not been the “best” between him and Trump, they have a “harmony of values and beliefs.”