Trump Torched As Flake And Corker Drop Out Of Senate Race: Republican Senators Offer Scorching Exit Words

The latest Republican senator to announce that he will not be seeking reelection in the 2018 Senate races is Jeff Flake, but Bob Corker only beat him by a few hours with his announcement that he too won’t be seeking reelection in 2018. The two men have something in common besides both being Republican senators.

Neither of the two walked away without bashing Donald Trump and seemingly using him as the scapegoat as they backed out of the Senate run, suggest Trump supporters online. Flake bunched Trump in with Republicans as he accused the party of leaving the “core principles behind in favor of anger and resentment.”

Flake then spread some anger of his own as he lashed out at Trump during his “I won’t be seeking reelection” speech, according to reports today. Both men took the opportunity with reporters surrounding them after their announcements to get their swipes in on Trump.

Peter Doocy of Fox News said on the nightly news Tuesday that Senator Flake made a very dramatic retirement speech on the floor of the Senate today. Sarah Huckabee Sanders thought a lot of the language coming from Flake were “unfitting for the Senate floor.” Peter Doocy also said she described Flake’s words as “petty.”

According to The Hill, Flake was facing a tough primary battle as Trump and former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon backed his primary challenger. This, along with his on-going fights with Trump, did not make him a “shoo-in” when it came to his re-election chances, according to reports.

WATCH: Flake delivers powerful anti-Trump speech on Senate floor: "I will not be complicit or silent" https://t.co/D2Mi1uNHy0 pic.twitter.com/QjtW0pRVjS

— The Hill (@thehill) October 24, 2017

Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a press conference today that based on Flake’s lack of support among his voters, it was probably a good move for him to back down from the race. According to Real Clear Politics, Sanders, addressing both senators’ recent actions, said at the White House press conference on Tuesday, “I think that they were not likely to be re-elected. And I think that shows that the support is more behind this President than it is those two individuals.”

She also told the reporters that Trump doesn’t want anyone in the Senate who is not invested in moving the ball down the field and as far as Corker and Flake are concerned, “I don’t think these two individuals necessarily have been as focused on that,” Huckabee Sanders said.

As far as Corker goes, he called Trump “everything but a liar,” suggests Time Magazine. While he was on the subject of Trump, he also offered up his regrets for backing the man for president. Flake, unlike Corker, was not someone who backed Trump for president. He went on a tour promoting a book and used that opportunity to accuse Trump of leading his party and the nation astray, according to The Hill.

The Hill suggests that the “condemnation from two Republican senators embodies the deep fissures within the party and the unease among the party establishment as Trump remakes the party in his image.”

Sen. Bob Corker’s retirement is notable for when it’s happening. Not running in 2018.https://t.co/n7ZvzFvY1b

— MaureenCKelly (@MaureenCKelly) September 27, 2017

Flake’s “antagonistic approach to Trump” put the wheels in motion for Trump and his allies to support Flake’s primary challenger and essentially “take him down from the right,” suggests The Hill. When the White House met with potential candidates to challenge Flake, only Kelli Ward threw her hat in the ring.

Bannon endorsed Ward earlier this month and along with Trump’s favorable tweets about the Senate hopeful and challenger to Flake, she started to pick up steam. The Republicans who were dissatisfied with Flake took Trump and Bannon’s prompts and started to rally for Ward. According to the Washington Post, Corker slammed Trump for “untruths” and “debasing” the country.

[Featured Image by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Images]