News

Trump lashes 'Liddle Bob Corker' as senators call for calm

Posted October 10, 2017 7:00 am

By ERICA WERNER

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2017, file photo, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., speaks to the Sevier County Chamber of Commerce in Sevierville, Tenn. Always one to speak his mind, Corkerâs new free agent status should make President Donald Trump and the GOP very nervous. The two-term Tennessee Republican isnât seeking re-election. And that gives him even more elbow room to say what he wants and vote how he pleases over the next 15 months as Trump and the partyâs top leaders on Capitol Hill struggle to get their agenda on track (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig, File) The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump lashed out at Sen. Bob Corker as "Liddle' Bob Corker" on Tuesday, continuing a feud with the Tennessee Republican who's dubbed the White House an "adult day care center" and charged that Trump could be setting the nation on the path toward World War III.

Fellow GOP senators, treading carefully, avoided siding with Trump or Corker. But leading lawmakers called on both men to end a quarrel that could imperil the Republican agenda on Capitol Hill. Trump will need Corker if he is to get big tax changes through the Senate, where the narrow GOP majority was unable to repeal Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. And Corker also figures to be a key player if Trump moves as expected to unwind the Iran nuclear deal.

"I have a lot of respect for Sen. Corker and what he brings to the Senate, but I think the president is leading in the right direction and I'm supportive of what he's doing," Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of the GOP leadership, told reporters Tuesday. "I would encourage them both to stop what they're doing and get focused on what we need to be doing."

Blunt's comments followed a plea from GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley at a town hall meeting in Jefferson, Iowa, on Monday for Trump and Corker to "cool it."

"And I think it would help if the president would be the first to cool it," Grassley said. "I think it would be better if we stuck to the issues and leave personalities out of it."

Trump's tweet Tuesday alleged that Corker was "set up" by "the failing" New York Times in a recorded interview Sunday. Corker, who is not running for re-election, leveled searing criticism at Trump and said his conduct "would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation."

In the interview, Corker said Trump could set the U.S. "on the path to World War III" with threats toward other countries.

Trump responded to that charge Tuesday as he addressed reporters in the Oval Office while meeting with Henry Kissinger.

"We were on the wrong path before," Trump said. "All you have to do is take a look. If you look over the last 25 years, through numerous administrations, we were on a path to a very big problem, a problem like this world has never seen. We're on the right path right now, believe me."

Trump also disputed the suggestion that his spat with Corker would affect his efforts to pass tax reform.

"I don't think so, no, I don't think so at all," he said in response to a reporter's question. "I think we're well in our way."

Earlier, Trump took to Twitter to voice his grievances over Corker's New York Times interview, writing that Corker "was made to sound a fool, and that's what I am dealing with!" Corker's office declined to respond but a Times spokeswoman, Danielle Rhoades Ha, said "the interview with Senator Corker was on the record and he knew it was being recorded."

Corker's comments echoed what some Republicans say privately. But Trump's enduring popularity with a segment of the GOP base serves as a political muzzle that keeps most elected Republicans from saying anything similar, even those who believe it to be true.

And Trump still has plenty of loyalists on Capitol Hill, several of whom voiced displeasure with Corker's remarks. Corker's fellow Tennessean, Rep. Diane Black, said in an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show on Tuesday that "if you talk about an adult daycare center, I'm sorry, but I think the Senate is an adult daycare center. They can't get anything done over there."

"We have been waiting for repeal and replace," Black said, referring to the Senate's failure to pass legislation to undo the Affordable Care Act after the House passed its own version. The Senate's failure on health care has also led Trump to attack Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the past.

McConnell responded Monday to the Corker-Trump contretemps by saying "Sen. Corker is a valuable member of the Senate Republican caucus and he's also on the Budget Committee and a particularly important player as we move to the floor on the budget next week."

His comments underscored what has frustrated Republicans most about the Trump-Corker feud, which burst open Sunday when Trump began tweeting, inaccurately, that Corker had begged for his endorsement and decided not to run for re-election when Trump turned him down.

Former top Trump adviser Steve Bannon lashed out at Corker, McConnell and others in an interview with conservative host Sean Hannity late Monday, calling on Corker to resign and threatening to take out incumbent GOP senators in primaries.

"We are declaring war on the Republican establishment," Bannon said on Fox News.

"Sen. Corker is an absolute disgrace," he said. "If Bob Corker has any honor, any decency, he should resign immediately."

___

Associated Press writers Adam Beam in Hazard, Kentucky, and Bob Christie in Scottsdale, Arizona, contributed to this report. Jill Colvin, Marcy Gordon, Kevin Freking, Alan Fram, Andrew Taylor and Matthew Daly contributed from Washington.

CORRECTS LAST NAME OF FARMER TO BACH - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., talks to Kentucky farmer Mike Bach at Mahan Farms in Paris, Ky, Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. Sen. Bob Corker is hardly the only Republican lambasting Donald Trump and raising dark concerns about harm the president might cause the U.S. and the world - he just the only one doing do in public. McConnell whoâs also been the target of Trumpâs attacks after the Senateâs failure to pass health care legislation, didnât directly answer when asked at an event in Hazard, Kentucky, whether he shared Corkerâs sentiments. (AP Photo/Adam Beam) The Associated Press

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2013 file photo, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. Corker is hardly the only Republican lambasting President Donald Trump and raising dark concerns about harm the president might cause the U.S. and the world. Heâs just the only one whoâs sounding off in public. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) The Associated Press

The Capitol is seen at sunrise, in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The Associated Press

FILE - In this June 22, 2017, file photo, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., walks to the floor for votes at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 22, 2017. Sen. Bob Corker is hardly the only Republican lambasting Donald Trump and raising dark concerns about harm the president might cause the U.S. and the world. Heâs just the only one whoâs sounding off in public. A couple Republican senators who did have something to say on Oct, 9 aligned themselves with Trump, not Corker. Daines âhas confidence in the president,â his office said. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) The Associated Press

FILE - In this July 28, 2017, file photo, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., emerges from a House Republican Conference meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Sen. Bob Corker is hardly the only Republican lambasting President Donald Trump and raising dark concerns about harm the president might cause the U.S. and the world. Heâs just the only one whoâs sounding off in public. Meadows criticized Corker, saying he finds âthose type of comments to not be appropriate especially coming from the chairman of the Foreign Relations committee, and certainly not in keeping with what I know of the way that things are conducted in the West Wing, having been there multiple times.â (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) The Associated Press

FILE - In this July 13, 2017, file photo, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., heads to the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. Sen. Bob Corker is hardly the only Republican lambasting Donald Trump and raising dark concerns about harm the president might cause the U.S. and the world. Heâs just the only one whoâs sounding off in public. A couple Republican senators who did have something to say Monday aligned themselves with Trump, not Corker. Barrasso disagrees with Corker, according to his office. âOn tax cuts, border security, and rebuilding American infrastructure, they fight the same fight,â Barrassoâs office said of the president and the Wyoming Republican. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) The Associated Press

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to a fundraiser in Greensboro, N.C. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Categories
Content Providers Nation and World News

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.