U.S. Sen. Bob Corker is calling a car being driven into a crowd of anti-racist protesters in Virginia an "act of terror," but the Tennessee Republican is declining to weigh in on President Donald Trump's comments blaming both white supremacists and counter-protesters for violent clashes.
Corker made several stops in East Tennessee on Wednesday, including one at a luncheon given by the Knox County Chamber of Commerce.
Corker says he will leave it to others to weigh in on Trump's comments showing sympathy for fringe groups' efforts to preserve Confederate monuments.
"I let the president's comments speak for themselves. There are plenty of people who editorialize about those. I'm responsible for my comments and people editorialize about those, too," said Corker.
But Corker did renew his call for removing the bust of early Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest from the Tennessee Capitol.
Corker says he would prefer the bust of the slave trader and Confederate cavalry general be moved to a museum. The senator calls the bust a "symbol that's offensive to people who were oppressed."