Republican Sen. Bob Corker said Sunday that he stands by his comments that Donald Trump hasn't shown the stability or competency to succeed as president, and that Trump's criticism of Republican congressional leaders is fueling resentment within the party.
Corker, a former Trump ally who announced last week that he won't seek re-election in 2018, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Trump has made positive changes in the White House with new chief of staff John Kelly, responded well to hurricanes that hit Texas and Florida, and showed courage in changing his position on increasing troop levels in Afghanistan.
But Corker said he's not backing off his critique of Trump after the president's response to a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.
"The country needs for him to be _ the world needs for him to be _ successful," Corker said, according to a transcript provided by NBC. "I'm seeing changes. But I made the comment. I stand by the comments I made at the time."
Corker also said the president "mocking the leadership on both sides of the aisle" in Congress fueled Republican resentment that helped Roy Moore defeat Sen. Luther Strange � who was backed by both Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell _ in a primary runoff election on Sept. 26.
"I hope that the election of the type of candidate that was elected there doesn't say that much about the Republican Party," Corker said of Moore, a former Alabama Supreme Court justice who was removed from the bench twice for refusing to follow federal court rulings. "I think it's more about the resentment that people have towards the fact that they don't see Washington solving problems."
