Sean Spicer: 'I can only hope that if Coretta Scott King was still with us,' she'd support Jeff Sessions

White House Press  Secretary said on Wednesday that he hoped that if Coretta Scott King were still alive that she would support the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R - AL) for attorney general.

King, the late widow of civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr., had originally opposed Sessions's nomination for a federal judgeship in the 1980s on the grounds that he had allegedly tried to "intimidate and chill the exercise of the ballot" by African Americans.

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Despite this, Spicer said that he hoped that King would have come around to supporting Sessions today if she had ever taken the time to get to know him and understand his record on key issues such as voting rights.

"I would respectfully disagree with her assessment of Sen. Sessions then and now," said Spicer. "His record on civil voting rights, I think, is outstanding."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D - MA) tried to read Coretta Scott King's original letter opposing Sessions's nomination on Tuesday night, but was censored by her Senate colleagues for it in a 49-44 party-line vote.

Watch Spicer's full response below.