News

Corker pleads for Trump to ‘pivot’ away from judge attacks

by Jesse Byrnes - 06/07/16 9:11 AM ET

.@morningmika asks 4x: If Trump does not pivot, is he fit to be President? Here's how @SenBobCorker responds. https://t.co/0dfRpck5To

— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) June 7, 2016

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday called for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to move beyond his recent controversial rhetoric.

Corker told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that many would “relish” being in Trump’s position, saying “he has within his fingertips the opportunity to pivot to move into the general election.”

{mosads}”If he can do that, if he can, you know, move away from pride and say, ‘Hey, we sort of stepped in it here, we need to move in a very different direction, this is about unifying out country,’ ” said Corker, who is viewed as a potential running mate for Trump.

Corker dodged twice when asked directly whether Trump was fit to be president if he didn’t pivot.

“It is up to him to take advantage of the incredible opportunity that anyone who cares about our nation would relish having to pivot and become the general election candidate,” Corker said.

“It is up to him, and I’m going to encourage with every cell in my body until I see that maybe he doesn’t take advantage of this,” he added.

Corker pushed back on answering “questions of conjecture,” stating: “Look, if we get to a point where it seemed that the pivot is not capable, that there’s really no way that this is going to evolve, ask me the question at that time.”

Corker offered a deadline of “over the next few weeks” for Trump to shift his focus to the general election.

GOP leaders have for days denounced Trump’s comments that an Indiana-born judge overseeing lawsuits against Trump University had a conflict of interest due to his Mexican heritage.

“To say that somebody because of their background or their ethnicity doesn’t have the ability to carry something out is wrong. That’s not where we are in our country,” Corker said Tuesday.

Trump has rebuffed calls to step back from his rhetoric.

Corker, who downplayed running mate talk after meeting with Trump at Trump Tower in New York last month, said comments the businessman has made are “totally inappropriate,” adding that “he has no doubt missed an incredible opportunity.”

“He still has time to pivot; he does,” Corker insisted, adding, “time is running short.”

Compared to Trump, Corker argued that with Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, “There’s no way she is going to change the trajectory of this nation.”

Corker admitted Trump “hasn’t fully formed views on numbers of topics” but predicted many would come to the businessman’s aid should he win the White House.

Tags Bob Corker Donald Trump Hillary Clinton