Corker decries Trump’s ‘constant chaos’
WASHINGTON >> The Senate Republican who once described the White House as an “adult day-care center” on Wednesday lamented that President Donald Trump governs in a state of “constant chaos” and denounced his attacks on federal law enforcement agencies, the media and other U.S. institutions.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., praised the Trump administration for recent sanctions, expulsions of diplomats and other measures to punish Russia. But he said he wishes the president were personally more adversarial and questioned his instincts to foster goodwill with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I wish he would be tougher rhetorically on Russia, yes,” Corker said. “But I see the things we’re actually doing and they’re pretty strong. So is that the president’s tendency? No.”
Speaking at a breakfast with journalists hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, Corker said there is “constant chaos” around Trump, and he blamed the president for his habit of talking with “unconventional” advisers late at night.
“The president is very entrepreneurial,” Corker said. “He gets input at 11 o’clock at night, let’s say, comes in in the morning and he’s got a different mindset.”
Corker admonished Trump for his attacks on the media as well as on law enforcement.
“I do not like the tearing down of institutions, and I’ve shared that with him,” Corker said. “I do not like it. I think that a continual tearing down of institutions in order to inspire your base and keep yourself protected with your base, to me, is damaging to our nation.”