Republican Senator Bob Corker vented his simmering mistrust of Donald Trump in a remarkably revealing interview with the New York Times published Sunday, leaving conservatives red-faced and in a spot of bother.
Corker’s statements expose the deep chasm that exists between hardcore Trump loyalists and several senior members of the GOP and brings to light the kind of conversations Republican lawmakers might be having about Trump in private so far.
And although Corker is not the first influential Republican to train his guns directly on Donald Trump, holding him culpable for the slew of allegations that are being raised against his administration, his stark admittance that the GOP is finding it increasingly difficult to deal with Trump’s brazenness might be the closest a sitting Republican senator has come to denouncing the president.
Tennessee Senator Corker has been embroiled in a war of words with Donald Trump on Twitter, which reached a crescendo during the weekend when Corker called the White House an “adult day care center” under the aegis of Trump. The duo have traded disputing and diametrically different accounts on whether or not Trump was willing to endorse the Republican for another term, reports The Hill, but it is the first time that a Republican senator has so vehemently decried the country’s leader in public.
Corker tears into Trump: He’s setting up the country for World War III https://t.co/2Fm30JsOlB pic.twitter.com/7zLit6AsQv
— The Hill (@thehill) October 9, 2017
Corker seems to be particularly concerned with Trump’s stance on North Korea, pointing out that his rhetoric and threatening actions might push the United States to the brink of war. If things go unchecked and Trump continues to double down on his words, the Republican senator suggested Trump could lead America to a nuclear war.
“He concerns me. He would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation,” Corker said, before adding that his threatening actions might lead the U.S. and the world “on the path to World War 3.”
Some analysts suggest that Corker, who was a Trump ally previously, might be so forthcoming in his criticism now because he is set to retire from politics, having recently announced that he would not be running for re-election. However, Corker contends that his disillusionment with Trump is a result of the president’s incapability to rein in his own instincts in the face of severe crisis for his administration. Corker also added that it is only the balanced heads around White House, namely Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, and Chief of Staff John Kelly, who are likely to save Trump from a self-inflicted downfall.
“I know for a fact that every single day at the White House, it’s a situation of trying to contain him.”
It remains to be seen now how other senior Republicans and the rest of the GOP respond to Senator Bob Corker’s remarks about Trump setting America for World War 3. Yet, one thing is certain: several Republicans and Trump are at loggerheads, which could end up derailing any legislative advancements the party might have been hoping to make in Trump’s first year in office.
[Featured Image by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]