GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s specific attacks on about a half-dozen U.S. senators, all but one of whom are fellow Republicans, in just the past four weeks are prompting senators to protect their own while casting a wary eye at an unpredictable White House.
Mr. Trump’s latest target is Sen. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.), who wrote a book that includes criticism of the president. In a Thursday [8-17-17] tweet, Mr. Trump embraced Mr. Flake’s Republican primary challenger. ‘Great to see that Dr. Kelli Ward is running against Flake Jeff Flake, who is WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He’s toxic!’ Mr. Trump tweeted Thursday.
In response, Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) told reporters in Chattanooga, Tenn., that Mr. Flake is one of the ‘finest human beings I have ever met’ and the White House would be ‘well-served to embrace the character, the substance, of someone like Sen. Flake.’ The president, he said, ‘has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful.’
Mr. Trump’s antagonism toward Senate Republicans will likely complicate the high-stakes fiscal negotiations looming this fall, and the push to overhaul the tax code. The government’s funding will expire at the end of September and lawmakers will have to pass new funding before Oct. 1 to avoid a partial shutdown.”
-Natalie Andrews, Janet Hook, and Kristina Peterson, “Donald Trump’s Jabs at Lawmakers Fire Up GOP Senators,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 17, 2017 06:03pm