WASHINGTON — The White House fired back at Sen. Bob Corker on Thursday for his remarks last week that President Trump doesn’t understand the character of the nation and has not shown the competence to lead.

“That’s a ridiculous and outrageous claim and doesn’t dignify a response from this podium,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said when asked about Corker’s comments during Thursday’s White House briefing.

Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, added his voice last week to the chorus of Republican lawmakers who have critical of Trump for claiming that "both sides" were at fault for the violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Speaking at a Rotary Club meeting in Chattanooga, Corker said he fears said the nation will be in peril unless Trump makes radical changes at the White House.

“He also recently has not demonstrated that he understands the character of this nation,” Corker told reporters following his luncheon address. “He has not demonstrated that he understands what has made this nation great and what it is today. And he’s got to demonstrate the characteristics of a president who understands that.”

The next day, Corker said during an appearance in Nashville that he hoped his comments will "influence (the president) and the people around him."

"We’ve got tremendous opportunities as a nation and there are so many things he has done that I agree with, but we are at a point with our nation where bringing about the best in the people in our nation, the best in the people in our country is where we need to be," he said.