Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., left, and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., right, are edging away from their support of Donald Trump. In this mid-May file photo, they talked with Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and state Republican party chairman Ryan Haynes at the Tennessee Republican Party’s 2016 Statesmen’s Dinner in Nashville. (AP file photo/Mark Humphrey)Republican leaders – especially our own Sen. Bob Corker – seem to be coming to their senses.
After a few rocky dates with Donald Trump, the shotgun wedding in July is looking less joyful after Trump failed a major test – looking worthy in what should have been a moment for any presidential candidate to look presidential during the days following the Orlando massacre.
Instead, Trump remained type-cast as a bitter reality-TV star selling snake oil.
Dismayed Republicans who had remained quiet over the weekend were no doubt hoping someone would steal Trump’s Twitter account and snip the wire to his microphone. As the week unfolded, Republicans began to back away – again – from Trump’s inflammatory responses. By Wednesday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and both Tennessee Republican senators were retreating from the presumptive GOP nominee.
“I continue to be discouraged by the direction of the campaign and comments that are made,” said Corker, Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Corker, a man thought by many to be on the short list of vice presidential picks for the Trump ticket, said Trump’s Monday address was not “the type of speech that one would give that wants to lead this country through difficult times.”