Outgoing Sen. Bob Corker told MSNBC he was unsure if President Donald Trump should face a Republican challenge in the primaries for the 2020 election.
“I want to get away from here and think about that,” said the Tennessee Republican, who has been a frequent critic of Trump. “What is happening right now is not the standard Republicanism that we’ve had in our country for many, many years and it’s very different. So, is it important for someone to get out there and at least remind people in their Republican primary what Republicans generally speaking have been about for generations?”
He added that “I think it’s important to remind people that we’re going through an anomaly right now as it relates to much of the standard Republican focus that’s been around for a long time.”
The senator also reiterated he does support much of the Trump administration's policies. “A lot of good things are happening. As a Republican I love the fact that we have so many judges that are being confirmed. I love the fact that the animal spirits are being even more so released in the economy. I love all that.”
Corker, however, also did not explicitly rule out that the country would be better off with a Democrat winning the next presidential election.
“I don’t think the Democrats, yet, are capable of electing a centrist,” Corker said. “It just feels like they’re being pulled to the side. But I think, for some, you know, someone like that might be appealing. But I don’t know. I don’t want to speak to that yet. Let’s see what happens a year from now. Let’s look at it a year from now.”
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