October 09, 2017
CNN host and Doylestown native Michael Smerconish believes Sen. Bob Corker's explosive interview in the New York Times may be laying the foundation to challenge President Donald Trump's mental fitness for office.
Corker, who isn't running for re-election in 2018, told the newspaper that the president's behavior "concerns" him, citing his threats toward other countries, which he contends could put the U.S. “on the path to World War III.”
Trump accused Corker of not having the "guts" to seek another term on Sunday, also claiming Corker had sought Trump's endorsement for re-election and that the senator had asked the president to nominate him for secretary of state.
Senator Bob Corker "begged" me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said "NO" and he dropped out (said he could not win without...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017
..my endorsement). He also wanted to be Secretary of State, I said "NO THANKS." He is also largely responsible for the horrendous Iran Deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017
...Hence, I would fully expect Corker to be a negative voice and stand in the way of our great agenda. Didn't have the guts to run!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017
Corker first fired back on Twitter, saying the white House had become an "adult day care center."
It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.
— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) October 8, 2017
He followed up with the Times interview, in which he said Trump tweets things that aren't true, by claiming many of his Republican colleagues in the Senate share his worries about the president. Per the Times:
“Look, except for a few people, the vast majority of our caucus understands what we’re dealing with here,” he said, adding that “of course they understand the volatility that we’re dealing with and the tremendous amount of work that it takes by people around him to keep him in the middle of the road.”
Smerconish, who got his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, said on CNN on Monday that Corker's comments could equate to the senator "planting seeds" to invoke the 25th Amendment to have Trump removed from office.
Per The Hill:
"I'm thinking of the 25th Amendment, Section Four, which speaks to a president who's unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office," Smerconish said on CNN.
Smerconish cited some of the comments Corker has made, saying the Tennessee Republican has used words in the past such as "reckless" and "chaos" when talking about Trump.
"Now he's saying that 'he concerns me,' " Smerconish said.
"I think he's planting seeds for questioning the fitness — the mental fitness of the president, pursuant to the 25th Amendment, to continue with his responsibilities."
...
"If you were to take a look at the amendment and then say, OK, how would you make an argument, what sort of things would you say in making a case to fulfill Section Four of the 25th Amendment," he said, "those words would be at the top of the list."
You can watch Smerconish's analysis below:
