Republican Sen. Bob Corker: Trump has not shown 'competence' needed to lead

WASHINGTON – Sen. Bob Corker delivered his harshest criticism of President Trump yet, telling an audience in Chattanooga on Thursday that Trump hasn't demonstrated that he understands the character of the nation and has not shown the competence needed to lead.

"The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability, nor some of the competence, that he needs to demonstrate in order for him to be successful — and our nation and our world needs for him to be successful, whether you are Republican or Democrat,” the Chattanooga Republican said at a Rotary Club meeting in Chattanooga.

Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he fears the nation will be in peril unless Trump makes radical changes at the White House.

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“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. Without the things I just mentioned happening, our nation is going to go through great peril.”

Corker, who often advises Trump on foreign policy, has at times been both supportive and critical of Trump.

Yet until Thursday, he had not joined the chorus of Republicans and Democrats who had criticized Trump for claiming that "both sides" were at fault for the violence at a white supremacist rally last weekend in Charlottesville, Va.

A 20-year-old Ohio man is facing a murder charge after ramming his car into a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, killing a 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

Speaking in Knoxville on Wednesday, Corker declined to rebuke Trump for his statements on the violence in Charlottesville.

“I did not see them (Trump’s comments),” he said at the time. “I don’t see a lot of television.”

But on Thursday, the senator had reversed course and offered a stinging assessment of Trump, his presidency and his response to the events in Charlottesville.

“Helping inspire the divisions because it generates support from your political base is not a formula for causing our nation to advance, our nation to overcome the many issues we have to deal with right now,” said Corker, according to video posted by Nooga.com, an online news organization in the senator's hometown.

► More: Corker talks Charlottesville, declines to rebuke president's comments

Corker suggested it’s time for Trump to do some “self-reflection.”

“I think in spite of the fact that people are polarized in our nation right now, people have to understand that we should hope that (Trump) aspires, that he does some self-reflection, that he does what is necessary to demonstrate stability, to demonstrate competence, to demonstrate that he understands the character of our nation and works daily to bring out the best in the people of our nation,” he said.

Trump also needs “to take stock of the role he plays in our nation and move beyond himself, move way beyond himself, and move to place where daily he’s waking up thinking of what’s best for the nation,” Corker said.

What happened in Charlottesville is “repugnant,” Corker said.

“And anything that is done to incite or to cause a movement, a white supremacy group, a KKK group, neo-Nazi group, anything that’s said to make them feel that their standing in our nation is enhanced is repugnant,” he said. “It needs to end.”