Retiring GOP lawmaker defends Corker: More Republicans should speak out against Trump

Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), who announced last month he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2018, defended Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Monday amid his feud with President Trump, saying more Repubicans should “speak out” about the president.

“I think more of my colleagues should speak out,” Dent said in an appearance on “MSNBC Live.” “They say things privately they don’t say publicly. I said it publicly before I announced I wasn’t running.”

{mosads}Dent also fired back at House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), for telling The Associated Press, “it’s easy to be bold when you’re not coming back” when asked about Corker’s feud with Trump.

“I will be bold. A lot of these comments from the president have been disquieting to say the least,” Dent said. “And I’m glad that Sen. Corker has brought voice to this.”

Dent’s comments come after Trump and Corker engaged in a war of words over the weekend. 

Trump took to Twitter Sunday to attack Corker, accusing him of not having “the guts to run” for reelection and claiming Corker “begged” him for his endorsement.

Corker soon fired back, calling Trump’s White House “an adult day care center.”

The Tennessee Republican, who announced last month he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2018, later told The New York Times that Trump could put the U.S. “on the path to World War III.”

“He concerns me,” Corker said. “He would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation.”

Dent said his fellow Republicans in the House and Senate are concerned by the “dysfunction, disorder and chaos” in Trump’s White House.

“We have these conversations all the time, and we have to do better,” Dent said.

Dent also said he doesn’t believe Trump understands that his repeated threats toward North Korea are taken seriously.

“When you’re the president of the United States, your words are policy. People take those words very seriously, and I don’t think the president has learned that yet,” he said. “The president, I believe, has to be much more measured in his rhetoric. But good luck with that.”