“He wants to fire him but he doesn’t want the confrontation,” said one adviser who frequently speaks to him. “He doesn’t mind the long negative storyline. He will torture him every single day.”

This person said Trump also wants to see how Sessions will respond to humiliation and has mocked his response so far.

In the West Wing, there is a growing consensus that Sessions is not long for this world, several officials said. “It’s kind of clear how this ends.”