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Donald Trump slammed by former ally in tense Twitter exchange

Donald Trump has been slammed by former ally Bob Corker.

Donald Trump has been slammed by former ally Bob Corker. Photo: Getty

Donald Trump has been slammed by one of his former staunch allies, who described the White House as “an adult day care centre” in a fiery Twitter exchange with the US President.

The war of words began with a series of derisive posts from Mr Trump, blaming Bob Corker for the Iran nuclear deal and saying the senator wanted the secretary of state job.

Mr Corker had been considered by Mr Trump for the secretary of state position in the months after the November 8 US election, before oil executive Rex Tillerson was handed the position.

Mr Corker, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, has been critical of Mr Trump in recent months, including over the handling of a white supremacist demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August.

“Senator Bob Corker ‘begged’ me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said ‘NO’ and he dropped out (said he could not win without my endorsement),” Mr Trump wrote.

“He also wanted to be Secretary of State, I said ‘NO THANKS.’ He is also largely responsible for the horrendous Iran Deal!

“Hence, I would fully expect Corker to be a negative voice and stand in the way of our great agenda. Didn’t have the guts to run!”

Mr Corker, whose retirement is a blow to the Republican Party struggling to balance divisions between mainstream and more populist wings, said in his tweet on Sunday: “It’s a shame the White House has become an adult day care centre. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.”

Mr Trump has long criticised the 2015 international nuclear pact, a signature foreign policy achievement of former president Barack Obama in which Iran agreed to reduce its nuclear program in exchange for easing of sanctions.

Last week, when asked about reported tensions between Mr Trump and the Mr Tillerson, Mr Corker’s response was seen as a jab at Trump.

“I think Secretary Tillerson, Secretary Mattis, and Chief of Staff Kelly are those people that help separate our country from chaos,” he said, referring to Defense Secretary James Mattis and White House chief of staff John Kelly.

Mr Corker also said Mr Tillerson was “in an incredibly frustrating place” where he “ends up not being supported in the way that I hope a secretary of state would be supported”, according to media reports.

Sunday was not the first time Trump has tweeted about Corker and his apparent waffling about whether or not he should seek another Senate term.

In August, Mr Trump said Mr Corker was “constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in ’18”.

That was after the senator’s remarks on the President’s response to the Charlottesville demonstration.

Mr Corker said, “The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability, nor some of the competence, that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful.”

-With AAP

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