President Donald Trump is escalating his clash with Sen. Bob Corker, saying the Tennessee Republican was "made to sound a fool" in a recent interview.
Trump says on Twitter Tuesday that "the Failing (at)nytimes set Liddle' Bob Corker up by recording his conversation. Was made to sound a fool, and that's what I am dealing with!"
The Failing @nytimes set Liddle' Bob Corker up by recording his conversation. Was made to sound a fool, and that's what I am dealing with!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2017
The feud between he and Corker intensified over the weekend.
Trump's criticism of the lawmaker drew a response in which Corker referred to the White House as an "adult day care." In an interview with The New York Times, Corker also said Trump could set the nation "on the path to World War III."
Trump previously tweeted that he expected Corker to be an obstacle to the White House’s agenda and charged that Corker "didn't have the guts to run" for re-election in 2018.
Senator Bob Corker "begged" me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said "NO" and he dropped out (said he could not win without...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017
Corker said the information in the president’s tweets was not true. A source familiar with Corker and the situation told NewsChannel 5 the following:
“All claims made in the president’s tweets are false. The president called the senator early last week and asked him to reconsider his decision not to seek reelection and reaffirmed that he would have endorsed him, as he has said many times.”
*CNN also contributed to this report.
