REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) on Thursday said he has developed a “newfound empathy” for President Trump over reports of a “Corker kickback” that some critics allege inspired the lawmaker to change his vote on the tax reform bill. Corker, who before this week was among Trump’s more vocal Republican critics, has slightly changed his tune, telling Fox & Friends that he was upset watching a “totally debunked story” spread across multiple outlets. “The guys that actually wrote this bill knew I had nothing whatsoever to do with it. But then you have this reporter who says this. All of a sudden people that I respect in the news media, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, people start printing this as if it's true,” Corker continued. “A social media phenomenon generates from this, and I've never ever used in my life the word ‘fake news’ until today. I actually understand what it is the president has been dealing with.”