Corker’s attacks on Trump highlight broader concerns in GOP
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.
He’s just the only one who’s sounding off in public.
With his Twitter broadsides and his explosive New York Times interview — he charged that Trump could set the nation “on the path to World War III” — Corker gave voice to concerns that circulate widely on Capitol Hill about an unpredictable president whose tendency to personalize every issue creates risks for the nation.
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.
The few Republican senators who did provide public views on Monday aligned themselves with Trump, not Corker.
For example, Montana’s Steve Daines’ office said simply that the senator “has confidence in the president.”
GOP Sen. John Barrasso disagrees with Corker, according to his office. Referring to Barrasso and Trump, the Wyoming senator’s office said, “On tax cuts, border security, and rebuilding American infrastructure, they fight the same fight.”
Barrasso is among the establishment Republicans who face potential primary challenges from pro-Trump activists on the right, heightening the political dangers if they should break with the president.
The Associated Press sought to contact all 52 Republican senators on Monday for their response to Corker’s comments and ask whether they believe Trump is fit for office, a question Corker declined to answer in the Times interview. With the Senate on recess this week and many offices closed for Columbus Day, the inquiries elicited few responses, and those who did largely declined comment.
Corker offered no solution to the problem he identified so graphically. Trump is the president, and few doubt that he will remain so, despite constitutional provisions for impeachment or for the vice president to take over if the commander in chief cannot discharge his duties,
Moreover, Republicans’ political fortunes remain tied to the president’s. They need his signature if they are to rescue a flagging agenda and pass a tax overhaul, a goal many believe is imperative if the GOP is to retain control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections. So unlike Corker, who recently announced he is not running for re-election in Tennessee, even GOP Trump critics will continue to mute their concerns about his behavior and try to work with the administration.
“Sen. Corker, who’s been a strong supporter of the president in the past, is essentially saying the emperor has no clothes,” said Michael Steel, who served as spokesman to former House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio.
But, Steel added, “The president was elected under our constitutional system and that’s where we stand. Congressional leaders are going to continue concentrating on doing everything they can to get big things done for the American people, and they hope to have as much support from the administration as possible.”