Donald Trump’s war of words with Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker intensified on Sunday, with the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee blasting the White House as “an adult day care center.”
Trump kicked off the latest episode early Sunday by alleging in a flood of tweets that Corker “begged him for his endorsement” before announcing that he will not be seeking re-election.
After being shot down by him, Trump further claimed Corker “didn’t have the guts to run.”
Corker later took to Twitter himself to respond, “It’s a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.”
The latest spat was triggered when Corker ran afoul of Trump by suggesting that cabinet members like Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly are the only ones in the administration “that help separate our country from chaos.”
In derisively dismissing his newfound nemesis, Trump added, “He also wanted to be Secretary of State, I said ‘NO THANKS.’ He is also largely responsible for the horrendous Iran Deal! Hence, I would fully expect Corker to be a negative voice and stand in the way of our great agenda.”
The Washington Post reports a person familiar with the two’s faltering relationship claims Trump in fact phoned Corker last week and asked him to reconsider his decision not to seek reelection. The source added Trump was prepared to endorse any Corker re-election effort.
Corker was a prominent supporter of Trump’s 2016 campaign, and Trump once considered him a potential running mate and secretary of state. Tensions between the two boiled over during the summer when Corker criticized Trump’s handling of the deadly white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville.
The early months of Trump’s days in the White House have been filled with chaos, leading to a recent Associated Press /NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finding Trump’s approval has now dipped to historical lows of just 32 percent.
Researchers also highlighted that, less than a year into his first-term, two in every three voters now disapprove of the job Trump is doing in the White House.
Trump’s shaky standing represents a 10 percent dip from when pollsters conducted the same survey back in March and are down three points from his 35 percent approval three months ago.
In addition, the poll of 1,150 respondents found that 57 percent of voters agreed they want to see a Congress elected in 2018 that will stand up to Trump.
[Featured Image by Ron Sachs/Getty Images]