Another Republican Steps Up To Defend Bob Corker And Encourage More GOPers To Take On Trump

The chorus of Republicans speaking out against Donald Trump continued to gain traction on Monday, with GOP Congressman Charlie Dent leaping to the defense of Tennessee Bob Corker and urging more members of his party to take on the president.

In an interview on MSNBC, Dent said, “I’m glad that Senator Corker” has spoken out against Trump.

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Dent, who has announced that he will not be seeking re-election at the end of his term, was asked whether it’s easier to criticize Trump because he won’t be returning to Congress, and he responded:

Well, I was critical before the 2016 election, I never endorsed Trump. So I’ll be very honest with you. … A lot of these comments from the president have been disquieting, to say the least. And let’s be honest, we’ve had a lot of these emperor has no clothes moments, and I’m glad that Sen. Corker has brought voice to this. We are concerned – my colleagues, my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate are concerned by much of the dysfunction and disorder and chaos at the White House. … We have these conversations all the time and we have to do better and I think more of my colleagues should speak up. They say things privately that they don’t say publicly.

As Dent said, it’s not just retiring Republicans that should be speaking out against this dangerous president. All Republicans with a conscience should be standing up, especially those who are running for re-election. That’s when it will matter most.

If they don’t speak out and say that enough is enough, then it will only enable the president to continue behaving so dangerously. That may have been okay during the campaign when he didn’t have his hands on the nuclear codes, but now he has real power, and his irresponsible use of that power could endanger the United States and the world.

With powerful GOP Sen. Bob Corker leading the charge against Trump and many more members of the party privately echoing Corker’s concerns, it’s only a matter of time before those behind-closed-doors frustrations are heard publicly.

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.