Analysis: Trump's Sessions remarks show penchant for shaming

Trump took on Sessions in an interview Wednesday with The New York Times, criticizing the former U.S. senator and early Trump campaign supporter for recusing himself from the FBI investigation into possible ties between Trump's campaign and Russia.

Trump sent an aide to the Justice Department to deliver a notification letter to Comey, but the director was in California for a previously scheduled appearance and learned of his dismissal on TV.

The following day, during an Oval Office meeting with top Russian government officials, Trump described Comey as a "nut job" and said his dismissal relieved "great pressure" from the investigation, the Times later reported.

Trump marveled at Volvo, Kia and other companies that were represented, then said: "And then I look at Reince," drawing scattered laughs with a tone that suggested Priebus was a less impressive presence.

Trump recently opened a lunch meeting with ambassadors of countries on the U.N. Security Council by asking everyone seated in the State Dining Room whether they liked Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

"Because if you don't, otherwise, she can easily be replaced," Trump said to awkward laughter, including from Haley, most recently the governor of South Carolina.

McCain, the former Navy aviator and Vietnam prisoner of war recently diagnosed with brain cancer, supported Trump's candidacy even after Trump insisted that McCain wasn't a war hero.

Trump poked fun at the overweight Christie last year while helping the New Jersey governor pay off debt from Christie's failed bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.