Donald Trump lashes out at critical Republican senators as they distance themselves from him

Donald Trump has returned to rallies since being side-lined with Covid-19

Credit: Scott P. Yates/Rockford Register Star via AP

US Election Article Bar

Donald Trump has lashed out at Republican senators distancing themselves from him as the party’s tensions were laid bare in public with election day now just two weeks away.

The US president appeared to dub Republican critics “stupid” at a rally on Sunday after a slew of the party’s congressmen publicly expressed displeasure with aspects of Mr Trump’s leadership. 

Among them are senators locked in tight reelection battles. The criticisms have been taken as a sign that they believe it is in their political benefit to hold the president at arm’s length.

Mr Trump singled out one Republican senator, Ben Sasse of Nebraska whose excoriating views on the president leaked last week, during a Nevada rally.

“We have some stupid people,” Mr Trump said, first referencing critical former Republican senators Jeff Flake and  Bob Corker, who stood down in recent years.

“But now we have this guy Sasse. He wants to make a statement. Little Ben. Little Ben Sasse.”

The president went on: “The Republicans have to stick together… One thing I respect about the Democrats, they stick together.”

Mr Sasse’s brutal monologue about the president came in a call with supporters but was leaked to the media and published last week.

"The way he kisses dictators’ butts. I mean, the way he ignores that the Uighurs are in literal concentration camps in Xinjiang right now. He hasn’t lifted a finger on behalf of the Hong Kongers," Mr Sasse said of Mr Trump. 

He added: “The United States now regularly sells out our allies under his leadership. The way he treats women and spends like a drunken sailor.”

Mr Sasse’s comments were meant to be private, though political strategists have suggested making the remarks on a call listened to by thousands of supporters may have come with the awareness they could leak.

Other Republicans have gone on the record. John Cornyn, a Republican senator up for re-election in Texas, was quoted by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram likening his relationship with the president to a bad marriage.

Mr Cornyn compared himself to someone who enters a marriage thinking “they’re going to change their spouse”, going on to note that “doesn’t usually work out very well”.

Others have gone further. The willingness of Republicans facing close re-elections to take digs at Mr Trump suggests the president is now seen as a hindrance to their bids.

Meanwhile Mr Trump launched a new attack on Anthony Fauci, his top infectious diseases expert, during a campaign call on Monday which journalists were allowed to listen in on.

“Every time he goes on television, there’s always a bomb, but there’s a bigger bomb if you fire him. This guy’s a disaster,” Mr Trump said.

The president also appeared to joke about how long Mr Fauci has been in US government, saying “he’s been here for 500 years”, while also calling him a “nice” guy.

The comment about firing Mr Fauci suggested that the president is sensitive to the ramifications of dismissing the official he is openly feuding with during a pandemic.

Mr Fauci had said over the weekend that Mr Trump appeared to see wearing face masks as a sign of “weakness” and criticised that approach, a possible trigger for the president’s remarks. 

The president was scheduled to hold two rallies on Monday in Arizona, a swing state.  Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, was off the trail preparing for Thursday’s debate with Mr Trump, the last of the campaign. 

The election is on November 3.