Bob Corker would like you to know that he’ll stick around Washington a little bit longer, if you want him to. The Tennessee Republican announced his retirement on September 26, 2017, in a short humblebrag celebrating both the power he’d accumulated and the sacrifices he’d made.
“When I ran for the Senate in 2006, I told people that I couldn’t imagine serving for more than two terms. Understandably, as we have gained influence, that decision has become more difficult,” Corker declared. “But I have always been drawn to the citizen legislator model, and while I realize it is not for everyone, I believe with the kind of service I provide, it is the right one for me.”
That decision apparently became even more difficult for Corker after he made it. So Corker is thinking about reversing himself. Or, more accurately, he’s running a public campaign designed to let people know that he’s open to reversing himself. At the heart of this effort is the suggestion that while Corker would really prefer to stick to his principled citizen-legislator model, he’d be willing to abandon it in response to a public that demands he continue his selfless service.
“In recent days, people across Tennessee have reached out to Senator Corker with concerns about the outcome of this election because they believe it could determine control of the Senate and the future of our agenda,” a Corker spokeswoman told the New York Times.
As it happens, one of those encouraging Corker is Tom Ingram, a “Republican strategist and longtime friend of Mr. Corker.” According to the Times, Ingram “argued that Republicans could imperil the seat and their [Senate] majority if they do not rally around an incumbent who has already won the state twice.”
It’s a convenient argument, though not a very compelling one. It was obvious last fall that the outcome in Tennessee could determine control of the Senate. And there is no public polling to suggest that the leading Republican candidate to replace Corker, Representative Marsha Blackburn, is any less likely to win today than she was when Corker made his announcement. In fact, given improvements in President Donald Trump’s approval rating and the polling on Republican prospects generally, Blackburn seems more likely to hold the seat today than she was when Corker decided to retire.
Blackburn is running. So if Corker jumps back in, he’ll be joining what promises to be a particularly nasty primary, perhaps doing more to imperil the Tennessee seat—and the one-seat Senate majority—than the Republicans who jumped in on the assumption that Corker meant what he said when he announced his retirement.
And there’s the lesson in this entire sordid episode: Don’t trust Bob Corker.
Even in a town that features a disproportionate number of unprincipled, self-aggrandizing lawmakers, Corker has distinguished himself. In March 2016, well before Donald Trump won the GOP presidential nomination, Corker scolded those who’d expressed concerns about the consequences of a Trump victory. “Here’s my message to the Republican party leaders: Focus more on listening to the American people and less on trying to stifle their voice.” As the primary continued, Corker said he was “repulsed” by those who spoke of a contested convention and told Paul Ryan and other Trump skeptics to “chill.” Corker’s early loyalty got him notice, reportedly placing him under consideration to be Trump’s secretary of state and even, briefly, his running mate.
Corker remained loyal for much of Trump’s first year. But when he announced his retirement, Corker declared, “I believe the most important public service I have to offer our country could well occur over the next 15 months,” and a short time later he made clear what he meant, offering some of the harshest criticism the president has received from any elected Republican. Trump’s White House was an “adult day care center,” Corker said, and the president “would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation.” There was “no question” that Trump is “an utterly untruthful president” who tells “provable untruths.” Corker told CNN’s Manu Raju, “Unfortunately I think world leaders are very aware that much of what he says is untrue. . . . I don’t know why he lowers himself to such a low, low standard and debases our country in the way that he does, but he does.”
Corker was unequivocal when asked whether he regretted supporting Trump in 2016. “Uh, let’s just put it this way: I would not do that again,” he said, twice adding there was “no way” he’d support Trump’s reelection. He wasn’t done:
“I think at the end of the day when his term is over, I think the debasing of our nation, the constant non-truth-telling, just the name-calling, I think the debasement of our nation will be what he’ll be remembered most for, and that’s regretful.”
Just four months later, the only thing Corker finds “regretful,” apparently, is his own criticism of Trump. Jonathan Martin of the New York Times reports that Corker and his allies have been “aggressively working to win over the White House, embarking on what one West Wing official described as a sudden charm offensive,” designed to win back the support of the man Corker disparaged as reckless and untruthful—a stain on the country.
It’s taking nothing away from Martin’s reporting to note that the best part of his detailed account of Corker’s efforts to ingratiate himself once again with Trump came after the last word Martin typed.
In a box at the end of the article labeled “Related Coverage,” the top link carried a headline that could only be funny in the context of Corker’s suddenly rediscovered love for the president.
“Bob Corker Says Trump’s Recklessness Threatens ‘World War III.’ ”
