U.S. President Donald Trump is feuding with his own party over what the GOP views as provoking conflict with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), with a key senator blasting Trump for risking "World War III."
Leading Republican senator Bob Corker over the weekend engaged in a battle of words with Trump, accusing the president of treating the White House like a reality TV show and of playing fast and loose with words amid rising tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.
Indeed, Trump has posted a number of messages in recent days and weeks directed at the DPRK, causing critics to berate him for what they believe is being too confrontational with Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons program.
Early Monday morning, Trump took to social media and posted a message that read, "Our country has been unsuccessfully dealing with North Korea for 25 years, giving billions of dollars & getting nothing. Policy didn't work!"
Trump has in the past said that a military option is one of the many options on the table in regard to the DPRK nuclear program.
On Saturday, the U.S. president again tweeted: "Presidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid hasn't worked, agreements violated before the ink was dry, making fools of U.S. negotiators. Sorry, but only one thing will work!"
Trump's own party is concerned over the sabre rattling, with key senator Corker warning that Trump's words could lead to a dangerous situation.
"Senator Corker is voicing concerns that many GOP leaders speak of in private," Dan Mahaffee, senior vice president and director of policy at the Center for the Study of Congress and the Presidency, told Xinhua.
"Patience has run out with the tempestuous nature of the Trump presidency," he said, underscoring tensions between Trump and his own party.
"Corker and others still have faith in the foreign policy cabinet and advisor. At the same time, they fear that an overly aggressive statement or tweet could lead to miscalculation," Mahaffee said.
"There is continued concern about how his tweets damage the GOP domestic agenda," he also noted, adding that "Picking fights with members of any party is a counterproductive approach on national security matters."
Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua that Corker suggested the views he expressed were widely shared in the Senate Republican Caucus.
"He said senators express their concerns privately even though they are afraid to say these things publicly for fear of antagonizing Trump," West said.
"It is extraordinary that a leading Republican who chairs a major committee says this," West said, referring to Corker, who is head of the Senator Foreign Relations Committee.
"It shows how corrosive Trump has been for American politics, even when seen from the Republican Party," West said.
"This will hurt (Trump) with his own party because Corker is well-respected among the GOP. He is not an extremist or someone prone to making sensationalist charges," West added.
"He is a cautious individual who would not say something like this unless he really felt it very deeply and was concerned about the prospect of a major war under Trump," West said of Corker.
"Trump's attacks on Corker are short-sighted because he will need this senator on tax reform and on many foreign policy issues," West noted, referring to legislation that Trump wants to pass.
"With the senate majority having a very narrow margin, Trump cannot afford to antagonize more Senate Republicans," West said.
