Trump punches back at Sens. Flake and Corker, claims a 'love fest' of support in Senate

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended himself against the extraordinary criticism leveled by two Republican senators, insisting that support on Capitol Hill for his presidency amounts to "a love fest" and accusing the senators of acting "so hurt & wounded."

Trump was responding to comments by Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who said Tuesday that Trump was unfit for office and warned that his actions were degrading and dangerous to the country.

Both men have announced they are not running for reelection in 2018, and Trump portrayed them as sore losers.

The president tweeted on Wednesday morning, "The reason Flake and Corker dropped out of the Senate race is very simple, they had zero chance of being elected. Now act so hurt & wounded!"

In a second tweet, Trump sought to prove that Flake and Corker are outliers by characterizing his closed-door luncheon with Republican senators on Tuesday at the Capitol as "a love fest."

"The meeting with Republican Senators yesterday, outside of Flake and Corker, was a love fest with standing ovations and great ideas for USA!" Trump tweeted.

Trump's tweets came as Flake continued to excoriate Trump – from his behavior and temperament to his rhetoric and policies – in a series of interviews on television morning shows, elaborating upon his speech on the Senate floor Tuesday and his op-ed, titled "Enough," in The Washington Post.

Flake said on CNN that he thinks more of his Republican colleagues in the Senate will speak out about Trump in the days and weeks to come.

"I think we've hit the tipping point," Flake said. "At some point, just the weight of it just causes people to change and to say, 'I can't take this anymore.' I hope that we've reached that point."