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Republican strategists this week admitted that President Trump didn't have the best week on the divisive issue of race relations in America, but stopped short of saying Trump had done any permanent harm.

Trump faced criticism throughout the week for not immediately denouncing neo-Nazis and white supremacists after a violent rally in Charlottesville, Va. After condemning those groups, Trump then argued that there was violence on both sides of the protests, which led to more criticism that he was defending overtly racist groups.

Patrick Ruffini, a GOP strategist and co-founder of Echelon Insights, said Trump's exposed the divide on race that still exists in the U.S., and said it wasn't an optimal message for him to deliver from the office of the president. Ruffini said by that measure, Trump has fared worse than President Obama did on race.

"It does show how divided the electorate is on these issues, particularly along racial lines," Ruffini said. "That has not gotten better in the last couple of years, but I think certainly we've had these challenges with Ferguson and the Charleston shooting, where a lot of the same issues flared up, but at least at the time, the leadership of the country wasn't enflaming those tensions."

And though challenges with race relations aren't necessarily new, Ruffini said the president's response raises concerns.

"That is not a good role for the president to have," he said. "That somebody who is actively wading in on a wide, on a very contentious and divisive topic, when tragedies like this occur, normally there should be a unifying response from the White House, and we haven't seen that."

Also this week, Trump signaled his support for leaving Confederate-era monuments standing, after many elected officials renewed calls for them to come down in the wake of the events in Charlottesville.

"Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments," Trump tweeted Thursday. "You can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!"

Support for leaving Confederate-era statues is high, according to a new NPR/PBS News Hour/Marist poll, which found 62 percent of adults believe they should remain.

But another GOP strategist, John Feehery, downplayed Trump's apparent missteps, the GOP has struggled with race issues in recent years.

"This is probably not a high point [for race relations]. But Trump was accused throughout the campaign of being a racist. There are some racists that support him, and he hasn't done an effective job at condemning them," Feehery told the Washington Examiner. "He kind of muffed the David Duke stuff, his less-than-impressive denouncement of them. But I don't think he's a racist."

Feehery noted that Trump's comments mark a low point for the president regarding race relations. But he said the Republican Party, too, has battled accusations of worsening race relations, though Feehery conceded that both parties have played identify politics in their own specific ways.

"We're better off trying to find understanding and have better communications among the groups instead of trying to call everyone a racist," he said. "I think if you're a Republican, you're used to this. There's no group that's more into identity politics than the Democrats. It's a party built on identity politics. They get their juice by calling someone anti-Semitic, anti-Islam. If you're a Republican, you've seen this played before."

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Republicans cheer Bannon exit but warn Trump still needs to change News & Observer Republicans exhaled on Friday after President Donald Trump ousted controversial strategist Steve Bannon from the White House a move that will help ease lawmakers' return to Washington after a damaging and polarizing period many blame in part on the ... Here are the Republican talking points on Steve Bannon and CharlottesvilleWashington Examiner all 2,387 news articles »

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A growing number of prominent Republicans are imploring President Donald Trump torepudiate his mixed messages in reaction to a violent white-supremacist rally, with one Senate Republican questioning his competence and calling for radical changes in his administration.

On Friday, Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, issued a blistering statement warning that Trumps rhetoric may provoke an unraveling of our national fabric and called for him to apologize to the nation. James Murdoch, the chief executive of 21st Century Fox Inc. and son of conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch, pledged to make a $1 million donation to the Anti-Defamation League.

Were at a point where there needs to be radical changes take place at the White House itself. It has to happen,Senator Bob Corker told reporters in his home state of Tennessee. I think the president needs to take stock of the role that he plays in our nation and move beyond himself -- move way beyond himself -- and move to a place where daily hes waking up thinking about what is best for the nation.

Corkers remarks are some of the strongest Republican backlash to Trumps suggestions that both sides bear blame in the Charlottesville, Virginia incident last week. Several other Republicans have called on Trump to make a clearer denunciation of white-supremacist groups, but many GOP leaders have remained silent on the presidents remarks. Business leaders left the first CEO-presidents advisory panels, causing the president to abandon several.

"Whether he intended to or not, what he communicated caused racists to rejoice, minorities to weep, and the vast heart of America to mourn," Romney said in a Facebook post Friday morning. "He should address the American people, acknowledge that he was wrong, apologize."

Murdoch, in a letter obtained by the New York Times, wrote, I cant even believe I have to write this: standing up to Nazis is essential; there are no good Nazis. Or Klansmen, or terrorists. Democrats, Republicans, and others must all agree on this, and it compromises nothing for them to do so.

Another Senate Republican, Tim Scott of South Carolina, said Trump had compromised his moral authority with his response to the recent violence. Im not going to defend the indefensible, Scott, the only African-American Republican in the Senate, told Vice News. What we want to see from our president is clarity and moral authority. And that moral authority is compromised.

Former Vice President Al Gore, a Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2000, was askedin a video published by British media site LADbible if he could offer one piece of advice to Trump, what would it be? Resign, Gore responded.

Corkers criticisms are particularly notable because he has previously been a Trump ally and met with him before his inauguration to discuss the possibility of becoming secretary of state.

The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful, Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said. And we need for him to be successful.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

He also recently has not demonstrated that he understandsthe character of this nation. He has not demonstrated that he understands what has made this nation great, he added. Without the things that I just mentioned happening, our nation is going to go through great peril.

Earlier Thursday, Trump jumped back into the roiling controversy over hisremarks blaming both sides for the violence as he decried the foolish removal of Confederate monuments and attacked two other Republican senators who criticized him.

In a series of tweets Thursday, Trump said it was sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. He wrote that history cant be changed but you can learn from it and that the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!

He also accused one Republican senator of a disgusting lie and plugged a primary opponent of another GOP critic.

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Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists and people like Ms. Heyer, Trump said on Twitter. Such a disgusting lie. He just cant forget his election trouncing. The people of South Carolina will remember! He also called Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona toxic and a non-factor in the Senate.

Trumps defiant rebukes came as House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tried to distance themselves from Trumps remarks blaming both sides in the violence by issuing statements condemning white supremacy.

Neither mentioned the president.

On Thursday, in response to Trumps attack, Graham said in a statement, Because of the manner in which you have handled the Charlottesville tragedy you are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country. For the sake of our nation -- as our president -- please fix this.

History is watching us all, he added.

Trump said at a combative news conference on Tuesday that both sides were to blame for the violence and that there were very fine people on both sides, including among the neo-Nazi and white-supremacist groups. He also accused what he called alt-left protesters of charging at the neo-Nazi groups with clubs.

The reluctance of GOP leaders to confront Trump directly is the latest sign they remain unwilling to challenge even the presidents most controversial remarks and comes despite growing concern among Republicans that their partys brand could suffer permanent damage from the backlash.

But Corkers public lashing of Trump suggests growing concern that his presidency could tarnish Republicans more broadly.

Corkers relationship with Trump goes back to the election, when the senator campaigned with the president and was said to have been vetted as a potential running mate. Corker also served as a member of the presidents national security advisory committee. He has continued to offer Trump advice on foreign policy.

This isnt the first time Corker has expressed frustration with the president and his administration. In May, after reports that Trump repeated classified information about the Islamic State during an Oval Office meeting with Russian officials, Corker said the White House was in a "downward spiral" and needed to "bring itself under control and order."

On Thursday, Corker also defended Flake following Trumps tweets criticizing him.

Senator Flake is one of the finest human beings Ive ever met, Corker said. The White House would be well-served to embrace the character, the substance of someone like Senator Flake. Hes one of the finest people I serve with.

With assistance by Justin Blum

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Trump Faces Rising Tide of Republican Dismay Over Charlottesville Response - Bloomberg

Republicans in Congress have tried to stick with President Trump in hopes that despite politically damaging outbursts from the White House, his pen would ultimately be able to sign their legislative agenda into law.

But in the aftermath of Trumps controversial response to the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Va., that promise seems ever more distant.

Congressional Republicans are now coming to grips with the reality that they are increasingly on their own, unable to rely on the president to helm their party, but without having powerful enough congressional leaders to bring bickering factions together.

That has dimmed prospects of passing big-ticket items such as tax reform, an infrastructure package or a new healthcare law.

At best, when lawmakers return to work next month, they hope to agree to keep the government funded past the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30 and not provoke a financial crisis with a prolonged standoff over raising the limit on federal debt, which the government will hit sometime in early October.

"The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told reporters Thursday after a meeting at the Chattanooga Rotary Club.

I do think there need to be some radical changes," Corker said. We need for him to be successful.

The latest Trump outbursts solidified the gloomy assessment from many Republicans.

It codified it: This administration has no hope of accomplishing any major policy goals, said longtime Republican strategist Rick Tyler, a former top advisor to Newt Gingrich and to Sen. Ted Cruzs presidential bid.

We dont have to wonder about it. Its like driving your car past empty the motors going to stop, and its not going to go forward anymore, Tyler said. These are the laws of physics, and legislations very much the same."

Trump has emerged less a partner to the Republican majority in Congress than an unpredictable bystander, welcoming lawmakers to lunch one day, bashing them on Twitter the next.

Several senators got the latest taste of that Thursday, when Trump swiftly turned on them after they critiqued his response to the neo-Nazi demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va.

Trump attacked both Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) on Twitter Thursday morning assigning a derisive nickname, Flake Jeff Flake, to the Arizonan and praising one of the candidates lining up to run against him, Kelli Ward, a former state senator who last month predicted that John McCain, the states senior senator who is being treated for cancer, would die soon and said that she should be appointed to replace him.

The praise for Ward marked an extremely rare presidential intervention into a primary against an incumbent of his own party a move almost certain to increase tensions.

Grahams response was swift.

You are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country, Graham tweeted, referring to the congratulatory messages Trump received from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

For the sake of our Nation as our President please fix this. History is watching us all.

Rank-and-file Republicans, and other party leaders, are less likely to be as sharply critical. Many remain hopeful Trump or his legislative team members, who are close to Vice President Mike Pence can still help push parts of their agenda to passage.

But the payoff Republicans counted on when they backed Trump for president large-scale legislative victories with GOP control of the House, Senate and the White House has not happened.

Trump has blamed Congress. He said the collapse last month of Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act was the fault of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Senate Republicans. He lashed out several times at McCain for his no vote.

But Republican lawmakers and their staffs say the presidents own performance was lacking. Trumps shifting views on the legislation and his unwillingness or inability to convince lawmakers and the public to rally around a preferred option was as much, if not more, to blame, they say.

A similar dynamic is unfolding on a tax overhaul bill. Republicans in the House and Senate are struggling to draft legislation that can meet the demands of both conservative and centrist Republicans. Trump has said taxes are a top priority, but has made no effort so far to sell the public on a proposal.

On Wednesday, he was supposed to tout his infrastructure plans, but instead, blotted out any discussion of that topic by his defense of the marchers in Charlottesville, who, he said, included many very fine people.

On Thursday, the White House said that plans to form a White House advisory council on infrastructure were being shelved.

Presidents and congressional leaders always have some tensions. But the current rift is extreme. To make things harder for Republicans, McConnell and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) have not shown they are able to muscle through their priorities as effectively as the Democratic leaders, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, did during the opening period of the Obama administration.

Trumps 30% approval rating isnt helping either. It leaves the president without the political capital he needs to move Congress to action.

When the countrys on board, the Congress moves. Thats the way it works. Its not a mystery, said Tyler.

Despite their unhappiness, however, the Republican Congress is unlikely to take the sort of action against Trump that Democrats and outside groups on the left are demanding, such as a resolution to censure the president for his statements.

Theres an imperative right now in the country to make clear Trump is not speaking for the country when he defended Nazis and supremacists, said Jesse Ferguson, a former top aide to Democrat Hillary Clinton. The only way to do that is to have the co-equal branch of government say it.

But even with Trumps sagging approval nationwide, the president remains popular in many states and congressional districts that elected Republicans to Congress. Lawmakers remain reluctant to put themselves crosswise with voters many will need in next years midterm elections.

Moreover, Republicans in Congress know that for better or worse, their political fates are hitched to Trumps popularity, which stems in part from his disruptive and racially tinged tone. That hitch was fixed in place last year when GOP lawmakers rallied around Trump as their nominee for president.

Doug Heye, a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee and GOP leadership in Congress who opposed Trump for president, said that dynamic isnt likely to go away.

As long as Trump remains popular with their primary voters, he said, I dont see things changing.

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

@LisaMascaro

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With Trump and Congress increasingly at odds, hopes for Republican legislative agenda fade - Los Angeles Times

After President Trump's most recent rhetoric about Charlottesville inflamed even more criticism, a handful of GOP lawmakers, including Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), are criticizing Trump directly, while others stay silent. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Once upon a time, there were rumblings in Washington that Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) was under consideration as a potential secretary of state in the administration of President Trump. That didnt pan out and, in the months since Trumps inauguration, its become clear that this was for the best, as Corker has repeatedly criticized Trumps time in office.

In May, after The Post reported that Trump had revealed classified information to Russian officials in the Oval Office, Corker described the White House as being in a downward spiral. When Trump repeatedly bashed his own attorney general, former Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, Corker criticized the presidents behavior. On Thursday, after nearly a week of analysis of Trumps handling of the racial violence in Charlottesville, Corker released a new critique:

This is an unusual rebuke from a senator for a president from his own party. But polling from Quinnipiac University released Thursday makes clear that Corker isnt alone within his party in seeing his views of Trumps performance shift.

The Quinnipiac poll showed a slight improvement for Trump since the beginning of the month, with 39 percent of respondents saying that they view his presidency with approval. Nearly 6 in 10 hold a disapproving view.

Those numbers have increased over the seven months of Trumps presidency, with more than half of the country now strongly disapproving of how Trump is doing. On Jan. 26, Quinnipiac found that only 40 percent of the country strongly disapproved of Trump. The figure was never that low again.

To the point with Corker, that slip has been seen among Republicans as well. In early August, Trump hit two new lows: his lowest approval from Republicans and, interestingly, his lowest strong approval rating from members of his own party. Three-quarters of Republicans still thought he was doing a good job, just less strongly so.

The new poll shows some improvement, but his strong approval numbers from Republicans are the second-lowest in Quinnipiacs polling.

Since he took office, most Americans have been skeptical of Trumps personal characteristics as well. More than half the country views him as a strong person and intelligent, but only a minority agrees with other possible descriptors: that hes honest, that he cares about average Americans, that he shares our values, that hes levelheaded or that hes got good leadership skills.

Its on that last point that Trumps seen the biggest decline since inauguration a drop from about half the country thinking he was a good leader in late January to about 40 percent saying it now.

Among Republicans, the drop has been steeper. Views of his leadership ability rebounded from earlier this month, but theres still been a 13-point decline in how Republicans feel about Trumps ability to lead. On every other metric, too, fewer Republicans now say that they think Trump holds these positive qualities than they did shortly after he took office.

On no characteristic does Trump fare more poorly among Republicans than on whether hes levelheaded. Only 62 percent of members of his own party say that applies, while a third say it doesnt.

In other words, Corkers assessment that Trump has not been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to be successful is a view thats held by a lot of other people in the Republican Party.

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Sen. Corker isn't the only Republican who's increasingly questioning Trump's stability - Washington Post