President Donald Trump curbed his penchant to punch back hard on Tuesday by brushing aside comments from a GOP senator that his actions as president are putting the country on the path to World War III.
"We were on the wrong path before — all you have to do is take a look — for the past 25 years," Trump said before a meeting in the Oval Office with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger when a reporter asked him about Sen. Bob Corker's comments.
"We were on the path to a very big problem. We’re on the path right now, believe me," the president added.
Corker, R-Tenn., suggested in an interview with The New York Times two days ago that Trump was putting the nation on the path to "World War III" and said the president acts "like he’s doing 'The Apprentice' or something."
Before that, the president and the senator had squared off in a Twitter feud following Corker's tweets saying that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly "are those people that help separate our country from chaos" and called the White House an "an adult day care center."
Trump re-ignited the feud earlier Tuesday morning, calling the Tennessee lawmaker "'Liddle' Bob Corker."
However, during the Tuesday morning meeting with Kissinger by his side, Trump softened his language and focused on the GOP's effort to overhaul the nation's tax code and health care system.
The president said he did not believe his feud with Corker, a potentially pivotal vote for the president's agenda in Congress, would hurt him.
"I don’t think so at all," Trump said, responding to a question about passing tax reform. "It’s politically very positive and the people of the country want it."
