Senate Republicans were flabbergasted on Monday that President Trump would pick a fight with Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a crucial vote on tax cuts and other Trump priorities, while the White House argued that Corker forced Trump's Sunday morning Twitter attack by suggesting that Trump's chief of staff, secretary of state, and defense secretary were the only thing standing between the U.S. and "chaos." Later Sunday, Corker explicitly said that Trump needs managing so he doesn't start "World War III."
Vice President Mike Pence issued a statement Monday decrying the "empty rhetoric and baseless attacks" against Trump, while Kellyanne Conway told Fox News that Corker's tweeted counter-punches were "incredibly irresponsible." But inside the White House, Trump's "flashes of fury" have left his aides "scrambling to manage his outbursts," which have "torched bridges all around him," The Washington Post reports, citing "18 White House officials, outside advisers, and other Trump associates."
Trump's tweet-attack on Corker caught staffers by surprise, but the president has reportedly been fuming about Corker's comments and reports that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called him a "moron," hurt that he hasn't gotten enough credit for handling three major hurricanes, and frustrated with his Cabinet, the Post reports. He is also isolated and feeling penned in by the stricter Oval Office access controls enforced by Chief of Staff John Kelly:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One Trump confidant likened the president to a whistling teapot, saying that when he does not blow off steam, he can turn into a pressure cooker and explode. "I think we are in pressure cooker territory," said this person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly. [The Washington Post]
Given Trump's cryptic comment last week about the "calm before the storm," that's hardly a reassuring metaphor.
-
Groypers: the alt-right group pulled into the foregroundThe Explainer The network is led by alt-right activist Nick Fuentes
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fallThe Week Recommends Concert tour season isn't over. Check out these headliners.
-
How to put student loan payments on pauseThe Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
