President Trump escalated his war of words with Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday, accusing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman of incompetence and reviving the nickname “liddle’ Bob Corker.”
“Sen. Corker is the incompetent head of the Foreign Relations Committee, & look how poorly the U.S. has done. He doesn’t have a clue as the entire World WAS laughing and taking advantage of us. People like liddle’ Bob Corker have set the U.S. way back,” Trump wrote in a pair of tweets. “Now we move forward!”
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The comments were Trump’s latest in an ongoing feud with Corker, which reignited Tuesday morning when the chairman of the Tennessee Republican criticized the president over foreign policy.
Trump fired back on Twitter, accusing Corker of fighting him on tax reform and contending that the Tennessee Republican only declined to seek reelection in 2018 because Trump refused to endorse him — a claim that Corker later denied.
Speaking to CNN’s Manu Raju later on Tuesday morning, Corker, who was once a staunch backer of Trump’s presidential campaign, said that he would not offer the president his support again.
The back-and-forth between Corker and Trump was only the latest in a spat that erupted in recent weeks. Corker has previously suggested that Trump lacks the “competence” to be successful in the White House and has accused him of throttling Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s ability to do his job.
Trump has not pulled any punches against Corker. The president has claimed that Corker “begged” for his endorsement and cast the Tennessee Republican as a hindrance to his legislative agenda.
Corker announced last month that he would not seek reelection in 2018. Since then, he has spoken more critically of Trump.
Updated 10:50 a.m.