Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) on Tuesday repeatedly declined to say whether he thought presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump actually was fit for the presidency.
Corker said at the top of an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he didn’t condone Trump’s attacks against a federal judge’s ethnicity. Trump claimed U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over cases in California against Trump University, has a conflict of interest because of his “Mexican heritage.”
Corker had argued Sunday argued that Trump was “going to have to change” in order to be competitive in a general election. He was asked four times on “Morning Joe” if Trump would be fit for the presidency if he did not “pivot” to focus on the general election.
“If he does not pivot, because you have talked about your hope that he will, if he does not pivot from this, is he fit to be president?” co-host Mika Brzezinski asked Corker.
The Tennessee senator responded that it was up to Trump to determine if he wanted to take the “incredible opportunity” to become a strong general election candidate. Brzezinski then repeated the question, but Corker dodged it.
“This is a very important time for him. It is a very important time for our nation,” Corker said. “And, you know, it is up to him, and I’m going to encourage with every cell in my body until I see that maybe he doesn’t take advantage of this to take advantage of the opportunity to change the trajectory.”
Brzezinski pressed yet again: “If he does not pivot, is he fit to be president?”
“So Mika, here’s what — I mean, I think semi prudent people do, is they don’t answer questions of conjecture,” Corker said, adding that she should ask that question after Trump has run out of time to pivot toward November.
