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President Trump on Aug. 15 said that theres blame on both sides for the violence that erupted in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

In the aftermath of the white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Republican lawmakers and leaders face the most unpalatable set of choices yet in their relationship with President Trump. They are caught between disgust over his failure to unequivocally condemn neo-Nazism, a desire to advance a conservative agenda and fears of rupturing the Trump-GOP coalition ahead of the 2018 elections.

Recent condemnations of the president by Republican lawmakers have been harsher, more frequent and sometimes more personal than in previous moments when Trump went beyond what is considered acceptable behavior. Many GOP leaders are now personally wrestling with the trade-offs of making a cleaner separation with the president, while finding no good options.

To some in the party, the hesitancy to act more boldly in response to Trumps handling of the Charlottesville violence specifically his angry news conference Tuesday falls short of what they believe this moment demands.

At what point does a principled party stand up for its principles? Tom Ridge, a former governor of Pennsylvania and homeland security secretary under President George W. Bush, asked in a midweek interview.

Ridge, a longtime critic of the president, added: You cant be afraid of losing an election because you stood up for what was right. A party of principle requires leadership. But at this time, were kind of rudderless. We need a chorus [of opposition] and we didnt get it. ... And frankly, if we did that, I think most Americans would applaud.

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)

What Ridge is calling for publicly is what some Republicans are asking themselves privately, which is whether a more direct break with the president is either advisable or possible. There are indications of private conversations underway within Republican circles about the presidents behavior and whether, after seven months in office and a new chief of staff who many GOP officials hoped would temper the presidents behavior, there will ever be a change. Many are concluding that the answer is no. The next question is what to do.

Its clear that, as of now, many Republicans lawmakers, leaders and strategists have reached a pair of uncomfortable conclusions. First, whatever they and a majority of the public believe about the repugnancy of the presidents comments, they believe Trump was duly elected as president on the Republican ticket and that he retains a deeply loyal following within the party. They are reluctant to go against that Trump base.

Second, however personally upset they are by Trumps remarks, many lawmakers believe they must maintain a working relationship with the president if they are to accomplish their legislative goals including tax reform and even a health-care overhaul. So far, they have little to show for their work this year and see progress on that agenda as crucial to keeping grass-roots conservatives and Trump loyalists energized ahead of the 2018 elections.

Interviews with Republicans around the country since Charlottesville highlight the dilemma elected officials face. Few were willing to talk about what comes next, even anonymously, and most elected officials and party leaders contacted declined requests for interviews altogether.

Many of these leaders know that in their states, Trump retains considerable support from Republican voters. Among those attending the Iowa State Fair in the past week a place where Trump made waves two years ago when he landed in his personal helicopter at the fairgrounds there appeared to be no significant dampening of support among his followers.

A large banner reading, Stand With Trump hung behind the Iowa Republican Partys booth inside the Varied Industries Building. By Wednesday afternoon, it was covered in signatures, with few spots left for others to add their names. Every few minutes, people would stop by to take photos with a cardboard cutout of the president.

Althea Cole, a member of the state GOP, worked the booth during the week, talking to people who stopped by. Iowans like Trump. Of course, we had the occasional person come up to us and say, How could you? she said Friday.

Notably, Cole said that several people stopped by the GOP booth to inquire about the states two U.S. senators, Charles E. Grassley and Joni Ernst. They want Iowas two senators, they want Iowas federal representatives, to be behind Trump 100percent, she said.

In another Midwestern state, a group of golfers watched Trumps Tuesday news conference from the clubhouse of their country club and vocally expressed their support for him and agreed with his characterization that both sides bore responsibility for the violence that took place in Charlottesville.

A GOP strategist working campaigns in red and purple states said that while support for Trump generally declined slightly since Charlottesville, support rose among his base, after a decline last month because of the failure on health care and revelations about the Russia investigation. This strategist said many Trump supporters applaud the presidents continuing desire to shake up Washington, favor his economic priorities and admire his willingness to speak his mind.

But he said Trump has nonetheless created a longer-term risk. What hes doing thats harmful is hes removing people from the persuadable audience, and thats dangerous, he said. Hes taken an event where he could have added 5percent of people to the persuadable universe and [instead] hes dumped out 10percent of them.

For many Republicans, this has become a look-in-the-mirror moment, a time for taking stock of their own actions, perhaps equal to or even beyond that which took place in the days after the release of the infamous Access Hollywood video in October. This time, the personal criticisms of the president started more slowly but after Tuesday built to a crescendo as the week unfolded.

Sen. Cory Gardner (Colo.), who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was one of the first to state his displeasure after Trumps Saturday statement, which made no mention of neo-Nazis or white supremacists. He implored the president to call evil by its name. Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.), who faces reelection next year and who dueled with Trump for the 2016 presidential nomination, was similarly caustic in calling out white supremacists.

On Monday, Trump delivered what many Republicans had hoped to hear Saturday. Reading from a script, he criticized the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear. Had he stopped there, he might have avoided what was to follow. But the next afternoon, during an angry news conference at Trump Tower, the president once again sought to blame both sides and defended the neo-Nazi marchers.

That evening, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said the march organizers were 100percent to blame, adding, Mr. President, you cant allow #WhiteSupremacists to share only part of blame. Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi (R-Ohio), accused the president of deflecting attention from the killing of Heather Heyer by a bigoted follower of the white supremacist movement. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, another 2016 primary rival, tweeted that this was a time for moral clarity. I urge @POTUS to unite the country, not parse the assignment of blame.

On Wednesday, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) told the Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C., that the presidents moral authority has been complicated by his response to Charlottesville. Saying Trump had tried to draw moral equivalency between the white supremacists and the counterdemonstrators, he told the paper, I think you are either missing four centuries of history in this nation or you are trying to make something what its not.

On Thursday, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, took the criticism another step by questioning the presidents stability and competence. He said that Trump has not shown that he understands the character of this nation and that without that understanding, Our nation is going to go through great peril.

Then, on Friday, Mitt Romney, the GOPs 2012 presidential nominee, posted a lengthy statement on his Facebook page calling on Trump to undertake remedial action in the extreme to atone for remarks that he said, caused racists to rejoice, minorities to weep, and the vast heart of America to mourn. Romney said Trump should address the American people, acknowledge that he was wrong and apologize.

Four magazines the New Yorker, Time, the Economist and Der Spiegel rushed out covers that showed imagery of Trump and some version of a Klansmans hood or a Nazi salute. The Economist declared that Trump had shown himself to be politically inept, morally barren and temperamentally unfit for the office.

The Spectator, a conservative British magazine, echoed part of that sentiment but with a caveat that highlighted the box in which Republican officials find themselves. Yet again, Trump has demonstrated the extent to which he is unsuited to be president, the magazine wrote in an editorial. But yet again we can also see the forces at work that led him to power.

Defenders of the president believe Trumps base will only intensify its anger toward the presidents critics. Saul Anuzis, the former Republican chair in Michigan, said Trump had been goaded by the media into the statements he made Tuesday. I believe there are media folks trying to put him in a position to create forced errors and he does, he said.

He added, I think its an uncomfortable situation [for the party] that unfortunately is not easily walked back because there are a whole lot of people trying to stir it up. Saying he did not believe Trump was a racist or neo-Nazi sympathizer, he said, Weve got a communications issue rather than a political problem [that] is going to be a challenge throughout his presidency.

One strategist said he had just seen the numbers from a survey in a battleground state and that the presidents approval among GOP primary voters stood at a still-impressive 85percent. For elected officials, political survival remains paramount, and they are reluctant to get crosswise with that base.

Elected officeholders have to speak to everyone in their constituency, said the strategist, who, like many, declined to speak on the record so as to offer a candid assessment. Theyre very concerned about the people who will vote for him next time and right now they still [like him].

Another strategist said that, despite the concerns about the president, there are any number of Republicans who consider the party to be in good shape. They say the Republican Partys never been stronger, he said. We have more governors, we have more state legislators, fundraising is great. What are you complaining about?

He added that Republican elected officials either have to feel punished or be punished before they will break significantly with the president. There has to be some sense that there is a price to be paid for this, he said.

A party activist noted that by many traditional metrics, Republicans are strong. Then theres the worst of times, he said. What happened in Charlottesville ... reinforces our biggest problem as a party, which is one word, the perception of intolerance. ... Whether true or not doesnt matter. This reinforced that in a big way.

The internal concerns go well beyond that, however. Party leaders and elected officials more closely tied to the establishment wing of the GOP see a succession of discouraging actions by the president, from his public criticism of Attorney General Jeff Sessions to the firing of former Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff and especially his attacks on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

What does the party do if it appears as though the president doesnt support the leadership in the party? said a Republican activist, who would not agree to be identified. How does the party run if the person who supposedly runs the party doesnt embrace the party? That is a big question. That is a conversation that is out there right now.

The answer is there is no obvious one, as many Republicans underscored in interviews. Some lawmakers anticipate that individual Republicans will maintain greater distance from the president in public settings and in their rhetoric while focusing more intently on a legislative agenda that remains largely unfulfilled. In essence, that would mean they would begin to chart the partys course without particular regard for Trumps priorities.

Trump has made that easier for congressional Republicans with his attacks on McConnell, which deeply offended McConnells Senate colleagues. His more recent attacks on Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and earlier ones aimed at Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) only add to the impetus to operate more independently.

A Republican strategist who is directly engaged in 2018 politics said progress on the GOP agenda, particularly tax cuts, could help to diminish some of the anguish that has been on display this past week. Cutting middle-class taxes and improving the economy? the strategist said. A lot of people will forgive a lot of sins if that happens.

But he conceded that the weeks events could complicate that path to success. I would be very hesitant to say [Charlottesville] has real meaning six months from now, he added. I think where it hurts the most, its just another thing that makes it harder to get the middle-class tax cut done.

One alternative to charting their own course would be for Republicans collectively to issue a sharper rebuke of the president. But that seems challenging, even in the assessment of Republican detractors of the president.

What does it mean to break with the president? asked William Kristol, editor at large of the conservative Weekly Standard and one of Trumps most vocal critics. Its a pretty big move in effect to go into opposition to a president of your own party. Its a very unnatural mode for an elected congressman or senator.

Another GOP strategist put it bluntly: Im not trying to justify what he said, but theres the practical issue. What youre asking is, do Republicans break with him fundamentally? Hes the president. What are you going to do, impeach for this?

Speaking with reporters Friday morning, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) described the position in which Republican lawmakers find themselves. I have a responsibility to do what I do, he has a responsibility to do what he does, and I dont have the constitutional position to be able to challenge him, he said. Were both in the same party, and so I can push on people within my own party, which I think is entirely appropriate, but the presidents the president, and he can make his own statements.

Ed OKeefe, Mike DeBonis and Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report.

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After Charlottesville, Republicans remain stymied over what to do about Trump - Washington Post

President Donald Trump's racially fraught comments about a deadly neo-Nazi rally have thrust into the open some Republicans' deeply held doubts about his competency and temperament, in an extraordinary public airing of worries and grievances about a sitting president by his own party.

Behind the high-profile denunciations voiced this week by GOP senators once considered Trump allies, scores of other, influential Republicans began to express grave concerns about the state of the Trump presidency. In interviews with Associated Press reporters across nine states, 25 Republican politicians, party officials, advisers and donors expressed worries about whether Trump has the self-discipline and capability to govern successfully.

Eric Cantor, the former House majority leader from Virginia, said Republicans signaled this week that Trump's handling of the Charlottesville protests was "beyond just a distraction."

"It was a turning point in terms of Republicans being able to say, we're not even going to get close to that," Cantor said.

Chip Lake, a Georgia-based GOP operative who did not vote for Trump in the general election, raised the prospect of the president leaving office before his term is up.

"It's impossible to see a scenario under which this is sustainable under a four-year period," Lake said.

Trump's handling of the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, has shaken his presidency unlike any of the other self-created crises that have rattled the White House during his seven months in office. Business leaders have bolted from White House councils, wary of being associated with the president. Military leaders distanced themselves from Trump's assertion that "both sides" the white supremacists and the counter-protesters were to blame for the violence that left one protester dead. And some members of Trump's own staff were outraged by his combative assertion that there were "very fine people" among those marching with the white supremacists, neo-Nazis and KKK members.

Importantly, the Republicans interviewed did not line up behind some course of action or an organized break with the president. Some expressed hope the recent shakeup of White House advisers might help Trump get back in control of his message and the GOP agenda.

Still, the blistering and blunt statements from some Republicans have marked a new phase. Until now, the party has largely kept its most troubling doubts about Trump to whispered, private conversations, fearful of alienating the president's loyal supporters and upending long-sought GOP policy goals.

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and a foreign policy ally of the Trump White House, delivered the sharpest criticism of Trump, declaring that the president "has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to" in dealing with crises.

Corker's comments were echoed in the interviews with two dozen Republican officials after Trump expressed his views in Tuesday's press conference. More than half spoke on the record, while the others insisted on anonymity in order to speak candidly about the man who leads their party and remains popular with the majority of GOP voters.

A handful defended Trump without reservation. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, an early supporter of the president, said he "proudly" stands with Trump and said he was succeeding despite a "constant barrage of negative attacks from the left."

But others said recent events had shifted the dynamic between the president and his party.

"I was never one that was convinced that the president had the character to lead this nation, but I was certainly willing to stand by the president on critical issues once he was elected," said Clarence Mingo, a Republican state treasurer candidate in Ohio. "Now, even where good conservative policies are concerned, that progress is all negated because of his inability to say and do the right things on fundamental issues."

In Kentucky, Republican state senator Whitney Westerfield called Trump's comments after the Charlottesville protests "more than a gaffe."

"I'm concerned he seems to firmly believe in what he's saying about it," Westerfield said.

Trump has survived criticism from establishment Republicans before, most notably when GOP lawmakers across the country distanced themselves from him in the final weeks of the campaign following the release of a video in which the former reality television star is heard making predatory sexual comments about women. Many of those same lawmakers ultimately voted for Trump and rallied around his presidency after his stunning victory.

GOP efforts to align with Trump have largely been driven by political realities. The president still commands loyalty among his core supporters, though some recent polls have suggested a slight weakening there. And while his style is often controversial, many of his statements are often in line with those voters' beliefs, including his support after Charlottesville for protecting Confederate monuments.

Brian Westrate, a small business owner in western Wisconsin who is also chairman of the 3rd Congressional District Republican Party, said Trump supporters long ago decided to embrace the unconventional nature of his presidency.

"I don't think that anything has fundamentally changed between now and when the election was," he said. "The president remains an ill-artful, ill-timed speaker who uses Twitter too often. That's not new. ... The president is still the same guy and the left is still the same left."

Some White House officials do privately worry about slippage in Trump's support from congressional Republicans, particularly in the Senate. GOP senators couldn't cobble together the 50 votes needed to pass a health care overhaul and that same math could continue to be a problem in the fall, as Republicans work on reforming the tax code, which is realistically the party's last opportunity to pass major legislation in 2017.

Tom Davis, a Republican state senator representing a coastal South Carolina district, said that when Trump can move beyond the crisis of the moment, he articulates policies that could help the country's economic situation. But Davis said Trump is also part of the reason not much progress has been made.

"To his discredit, he's been maddeningly inconsistent in advancing those policies, which is part of the reason so little has been accomplished in our nation's capital these past six months," Davis said.

Mike Murphy, a veteran Republican strategist who most recently tried to help Jeb Bush win the 2016 GOP presidential primary, said the early optimism some Republicans felt about their ability to leverage Trump's presidency has all but evaporated in the days following the Charlottesville protests.

"Most party regulars have gone from an initial feeling of guarded optimism that Trump would be able to stumble along while Mitch (McConnell) and (Paul) Ryan do the big lifting and pass our Republican agenda to a current feeling of deep frustration and despair," Murphy said.

Barrow reported from Atlanta. AP writers Julie Bykowicz in Washington, Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, and Adam Beam in Frankfort, Kentucky, contributed to this report.

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Republican doubts and anxieties about Trump burst into the open - Chicago Tribune

A decade ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger warned California Republicans that were dying at the box office, and that we must change to stay relevant. While many criticized and disregarded his message, including me, history has proven him correct.

Change is difficult, especially for political organizations. Parties attract, and are made up of, like-minded people with shared values and vision. They tend to be insular and shun thinking different from their own. As a result, efforts to change them are often painful. We see this playing out in both major parties, here and across the nation.

For California Republicans, change is not an option it is an imperative.

Republican registration today is below 26 percent statewide, and falling. In 39 Assembly districts almost half the state Republican registration is below that of No Party Preference. We are not relevant in presidential or U.S. Senate elections, and havent won a statewide office in more than a decade. Republicans no longer have the luxury of time, inflexible ideology or intraparty squabbles.

Republicans must recognize the importance of being data-driven, broadening our message, and being more inclusive. Most importantly, we must listen to all Californians, not just the shrinking subset of one party. For a minority party, politics is about addition.

Ronald Reagan said it best: I do not view the new revitalized Republican Party as one based on a principle of exclusion. After all, you do not get to be a majority party by searching for groups you wont associate or work with.

California Republicans must overcome the fear of doing something different. We must reach into communities in which we are not present today, listen to different perspectives, and adapt our core principles to a changing state. In short, we must define what it means to be a Republican in California today. We cannot be timid or afraid.

Republicans have a choice: We can remain in a state of denial and continue to lose elections, influence and relevance, or we can move forward boldly to articulate and apply our principles in a way that resonates with a changing California. To me, the choice is clear.

As Assembly Republican leader, I have built genuine relationships with groups that we have ignored for decades, championed policies that reach out to nontraditional Republican groups, and communicated more broadly than any Republican leader in the last generation.

Many of my Assembly Republican colleagues have engaged in issues that are not often associated with us, such as providing for the developmentally disabled, fighting poverty, and addressing climate change through market-based solutions. Moreover, my colleagues and I will continue fighting for an open economy that provides freedom and economic opportunity to everyone equally. To be a viable alternative, Republicans have to provide a vision that resonates with the majority of Californians.

Going forward, Republicans simply cant wait another decade to do things differently. We must step out of our comfort zones. We must listen closely to the states diverse voices. We must acknowledge and embrace our states uniqueness. And we must offer bold policy proposals that improve California and the lives of its residents. This is the challenge before us.

Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes represents the 42nd Assembly District.

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The challenge ahead for California Republicans - OCRegister

Ad will collapse in seconds CLOSE August 18, 2017 08/18/2017 6:28 pm By Ed Kilgore Share

With Stephen Bannons departure from the White House dominating the news today, a lot of political observers may have missed a story that appeared to show a machiavellian White House scheme falling flat:

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is quashing speculation that hell leave the Senate to become President Trumps Energy secretary.

The Democratic senator, who is facing a tough 2018 reelection bid, said at a town hall that he would not be jumping to the Trump administration.

Observers who can remember all the way back to the beginning of the Trump administration (a long time in Twitter years) may recall Manchins name came up for the Energy gig during the transition. But he was passed over for former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The Manchin talk didnt even continue long enough for it to become clear whether the West Virginian was interested.

But three unrelated developments revived it, at least in the media: the failure of Senate Republicans to enact health care legislation; the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to become White House Chief of Staff; and a party-switch by previously Democratic West Virginia governor Jim Justice.

It was pretty easy to design a razzle-dazzle play that would get Republicans a health care bill, and sure enough, it was reported at Bloomberg as a work in progress:

Some White House and Republican officials are exploring the idea of putting West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin in charge of the Energy Department, according to four people familiar with the discussions, a move that could boost President Donald Trumps stalled legislative agenda.

If Manchin were offered and accepted the position, that would allow West Virginias Governor Jim Justice a newly minted Republican to appoint a GOP successor and bring the party a vote closer in the Senate to being able to repeal Obamacare.

For this to transpire, of course, Rick Perry would have to agree to give up Energy for Homeland Security, and he quickly made noises that he was happy right where he was. Media folk pointed out that Perry and Trump had not exactly seen eye to eye on immigration enforcement in the past. And others fretted about the precision timing required to get Manchin confirmed and areliable vote for skinny repeal sworn into the Senate.

In the end, its not clear if Perry balked, or Manchin passed, or Justice wanted to appoint himself to the hypothetical open seat, or if the whole thing was a Republican fantasy from the get-go. But this particular game of musical chairs ended before it began.

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The departure of Trumps nationalist id, Steve Bannon, after a week in which he alienated other allies, will only increase attacks on the White House.

Another Trump ally is gone.

While Bannons rivals in the administration will be happy to see him go, he could cause the White House immense problems as a free agent.

A rumored game of musical chairs had Perry going to DHS, Manchin to Energy, and a West Virginia Republican to the Senate. But in the end nobody moved.

We definitely didnt recycle a video about Anthony Scaramucci.

Sebastian Gorka and Julia Hahn could be the next staffers on their way out of the White House.

Bollards, strategically deployed, can foil terrorist techniques.

President Trumps controversial senior strategist is planning his next act.

A strategists one brilliant insight had become obsolete.

Under President Trump, infrastructure cant catch a break.

The 2012 GOP nominee unambiguously condemns Trumps remarks about Charlottesville and calls for an extremely unlikely retraction and apology.

The First Lady reportedly operates her Twitter account herself.

In 2017 alone, there have been at least nine such attacks around the world, resulting in nearly 40 deaths.

Its a pretty long list.

He is, if nothing else, a genius at playing to Americas most alarming tendencies.

The carbon tax actually stands a better chance of happening now than ever before.

Mattis and Tillerson tried to clean up after his gaffe. But despite Trumps bluster, opening fire would be catastrophic.

Attackers plowed into crowds in Barcelona and Cambrils in Spains worst attack in a more than a decade.

The 21st Century Fox CEO and son of Rupert Murdoch says Trumps reaction was concerning.

Republicans need the president to focus on their daunting fall agenda, not stirring up a new controversy.

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Scheme To Get Republicans a 53d Senate Seat Collapses As Manchin Stays Put - New York Magazine

President Trump has drawn criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike over his response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., between white supremacists and counter-protesters.

Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee delivered one of the most stinging reviews Thursday when he said the president had yet to show the stability and competence needed to achieve success.

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," the Republican lawmaker told reporters in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Corker repeated himself later, as if to stress those words.

"We should hope that he aspires, does some self-reflection, 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 of the people in our nation," he said.

Corker did not stumble over those carefully chosen words.

I will say we are at a point where there needs to be radical changes that take place at the White House. I think the president needs to take stock of the role he plays in our nation and move beyond himself, move way beyond himself, and move to a place where daily, hes waking up and thinking about whats best for our nation, he continued.

Corker didn't elaborate on what changes he was talking about. But he did indicate that he believes Trump pushes his personal agenda first, before thinking of the country as a whole.

Corker has been generally supportive of Trump. Hes voiced his approval of the president's agenda on immigration reform, the fight against Islamic State and the decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

Even in October, when a now-infamous Access Hollywood tape was released showing Trump making lewd remarks about women in 2005, Corker criticized Trumps comments then as inappropriate. But he was not one of the Republican senators who withdrew his support for Trump's candidacy.

Now a new dilemma has arisenwithinthe GOP over Trumps responses to the violence in Charlottesville, Va. Two days after the deadly unrest, Trump gave a scripted speech that condemned white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis. But the next day, he referred both to white supremacist protesters and counter-demonstrators who had confronted them, saying that "both sides" were responsible for the mayhem. The back-and-forth statementsprompted many Republicans to publicly chastise Trump for not placing greater blame on the racist marchers.

When asked whetherTrump had done enough to denounce these groups, Corker did not mince words.

"White supremacy groups, neo-Nazi groups, KKK groups are not whats good about our nation. They are to be called out for what they are, and that is repugnant," he said, adding, I dont think the president has appropriately spoken to the nation on this issue.

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Leading Republican says Trump lacks the stability and competence needed for success - Los Angeles Times