With lawmakers back in town, Republicans have been talking a big game about tax reform. House Republicans are confident they can pass something before Thanksgiving, which is only 15 legislative days away. The White House has begun planning a multi-million dollar push to sway the public. And President Trump is heading to Capitol Hill to have lunch with Senate Republicans. Tuesday was supposed to be the start of a push that would drive tax reform across the goal line. So, how’s that going? Let’s check the president’s Twitter...
Bob Corker, who helped President O give us the bad Iran Deal & couldn't get elected dog catcher in Tennessee, is now fighting Tax Cuts....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2017
...Corker dropped out of the race in Tennesse when I refused to endorse him, and now is only negative on anything Trump. Look at his record!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2017
Trump appears to be responding to comments Corker made on Good Morning America earlier in the day. “I would just like him to leave it to the professionals for a while and see if we can do something that’s constructive,” Corker said. “If you start taking things off the table before you get started, you make it very difficult.” But Corker didn’t stop there. After Trump’s first series of tweets, Corker hit back on Twitter and then CNN:
Same untruths from an utterly untruthful president. #AlertTheDaycareStaff
— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) October 24, 2017
On CNN, Corker suggested Trump was unfit for office and basically called him a historical disgrace, saying, “When his term is over, the debasement of our nation will be what he’ll be remembered most for.”
Never one to let things go, Trump returned to Twitter to dole out the same insults he’s been doling out for the last month.
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.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2017
...the entire World WAS laughing and taking advantage of us. People like liddle' Bob Corker have set the U.S. way back. Now we move forward!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2017
Trump is incapable of letting any slight go without comment, which is why he attacked a grieving widow on Monday. But this is tactless and foolish even for Trump. The lunch he’s attending on Tuesday was meant to show a modicum of unity with a group of senators who have criticized him and occasionally stymied his legislative agenda. It was also meant to roll out the GOP’s messaging strategy for tax reform. And yet Trump, who can only lose three Republican votes, spent the hours before this important meeting attacking a Republican senator he desperately needs.