In a series of Twitter posts, US President Donald Trump accused outgoing Tennessee Senator Bob Corker of being "a negative voice in the way of our great agenda," as well as allegedly "begging" him to endorse him for re-election and not having "the guts."
"Senator Bob Corker "begged" me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said "NO" and he dropped out (said he could not win without my endorsement). 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. Didn't have the guts to run!" Trump wrote.
Senator Bob Corker "begged" me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said "NO" and he dropped out (said he could not win without…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 8 октября 2017 г.
..my endorsement). He also wanted to be Secretary of State, I said "NO THANKS." He is also largely responsible for the horrendous Iran Deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 8 октября 2017 г.
…Hence, I would fully expect Corker to be a negative voice and stand in the way of our great agenda. Didn't have the guts to run!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 8 октября 2017 г.
Shortly after, Corker responded by saying that "It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center."
It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.
— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) 8 октября 2017 г.
Trump's criticism of the senator of his own party comes after Bob Corker repeatedly criticized the US president's policy, in particular, in regard to the response to the violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"The President has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful," he said several days after Trump said that "both sides" are responsible for the Charlottesville events. When asked whether he stood by his remarks now last Sunday, Corker told NBC that his opinion has remained the same.
The Republican senator, who announced his retirement last month, also praised Chief of Staff John Kelly, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis as the "people that help separate our country from chaos" by refusing to admit that he was referring to President Trump as the "chaos" he mentioned.
However, he added that Kelly, Tillerson and Mattis "work very well together to make sure the policies we put forth around the world are sound and coherent. There are other people within the administration that don't. I hope they stay because they're valuable to the national security of our nation."
Corker, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, also defended Tillerson's stance on North Korea after Trump called on the foreign policy chief to "save energy," who, according to him, is "wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," adding that "we'll do what has to be done."
Trump's bashing of Corker comes just a day after the president said he called the Senate Democratic Party leader Chuck Schumer of the Healthcare bill, hinting at a second possible deal with the Democrats despite the GOP's criticism of the first agreement to raise the debt ceiling in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
