Bob Corker: Full Text of Republican senator’s attack on Donald Trump

Republican Senator Bob Corker and Donald Trump have engaged in a dramatic exchange, with the two Republicans sparring with one another in a scene that is rarely seen between a member of Congress and a president of the same party.

In an interview with CNN, Mr Corker said that Mr Trump is not a positive role model for America’s children, and said that he has difficulty with the truth, amongst other barbs. Mr Trump, meanwhile, repeatedly criticized Mr Corker on Twitter, saying that he was a poor politician, and accusing him of supporting the Iran nuclear deal (Mr Corker opposed that bill).

Read below to see what Mr Corker had to say Tuesday morning.

MR CORKER: We grew up in our family not using the L word, okay? But they’re provable untruths. Provable. So, I mean, on the Iran deal: Everybody knows the role I played there. And they’re working with me, interestingly, right now on tax reform. I made the deal with [Pennsylvania Senator Pat] Toomey that has allowed that to go forward, obviously I want to make sure it’s done properly. But, and then everything else. I mean, four times he encouraged me to run, and told me he’d endorse me. So, I don’t know, it’s amazing. Unfortunately, I think world leaders are very aware that much of what he says is untrue. Certainly people here are because these things are provably untrue. I mean, they’re just factually incorrect, and people know the difference. So, I don’t know why he lowers himself to such a low, low standard and debases our country in the way that he does, but he does and, you know, look, I don’t like responding. You can let them go unanswered, but it’s just not me to, we don’t do tweets like that. We’ve responded twice to, again, untruths, but it’s unfortunate that our nation finds itself in this place.

CNN: Is the President of the United States a liar?

MR CORKER: The president has great difficulty with the truth on many issues.

indCNN: Do you regret supporting him in the election?

MR CORKER: Uhh, well let’s just put it this way: I would not do that again.

CNN: You wouldn’t support him again?

MR CORKER: No way. No way. No I, I think that he’s proven himself unable to rise to the occasion. I think many of us, me included, have tried to, you know, I’ve intervened, I’ve had a private dinner. I’ve been with him on multiple occasions to create some kind of aspirational approach if you will to the way he conducts himself. But I don’t think that that’s possible, and he’s obviously not going to rise to the occasion as president.

CNN: Do you think he’s a role model to children in the United States?

MR CORKER: No.

CNN: You don’t?

MR CORKER: No, absolutely not. I think that, you know, the things that are happening right now that are harmful to our nation. Whether it’s the breaking down of — we’re gonna be doing some hearings on some of the things that he purposefully is breaking down relationships we have around the world that have been useful to our nation. But, I think at the end of the day when his term is over, I think the debasing of our nation, the constant non-truth telling, just the name calling, the things, like, I think the debasement of our nation will be what he will be remembered most for, and that’s regretful, and it affects young people. I mean, we have young people who for the fist time are watching a president stating absolute non-truth non-stop, personalizing things in the way that he does, and it’s very sad for our nation.