Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said just before Christmas he had a “newfound empathy” for President Trump and how false information can get halfway around the world before the truth got its boots on.
“I told [Trump] that I’d had a healthy respect for the media and I deal with them all the time, and, you know, to attack the media has not been something I’ve done,” Corker told Fox News Dec. 21.
“I’ve never, ever in my life used the word ‘fake news’ until today,” he said. “I actually understand what it is the president has been dealing with.”
The issue was Corker’s “yes” vote on the congressional tax reform bill, which passed the House and Senate in December and was signed into law by the president. He had voted “no” on the original Senate bill before it went to a conference committee, maintaining he couldn’t vote for a bill that increased the deficit more than $1 trillion.
In the conference committee, a provision was added that could benefit people with real estate holdings, such as that held by the Chattanooga lawmaker. Although he is not on the tax-writing committee and had no knowledge of the provision, it was reported the provision was added to secure his vote and how it might enrich him.