Tom Cotton, Conservatives To Meet Donald Trump In Washington
Donald Trump has been known to court controversy wherever he goes. Where Donald Trump courts controversy, increasingly conservatives in the establishment — and even some outside the establishment — have been known to call out the bombastic billionaire businessman. One of those to have called him out is Senator Tom Cotton, a freshman from Arkansas, who has called Trump out numerous times on issues ranging from insulting fellow Senator John McCain’s war record to calls to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
Cotton went on NBC‘s Meet the Press shortly after Trump’s statement over the summer where the businessman stated that he did not believe McCain was really a war hero because he was “shot down.” He quickly added that he admired the men who were not shot down. Cotton, himself a veteran, called for an apology from Trump to McCain. That apology never came (watch the interview between Meet the Press Moderator Chuck Todd and Cotton below).
Then, as the rhetoric on the campaign trail got more heated and the Paris and San Bernardino terror attacks rocked the geopolitical world and the hearts and minds of some Americans and Europeans, Trump called for an outright ban on Muslims entering the country, which Tom Cotton — a conservative Republican senator — said was wrong, according to Politico.
“On Tuesday, Cotton told radio host Bill Bennett that he would not support Trump’s proposal but added that, ‘at the same time we shouldn’t allow political correctness to get in the way of recognizing that there are a large number of radical Muslims around the world who would like to come to the United States and attack Americans.’
“Asked whether that means greater outreach in the Muslim community is needed, Cotton said, ‘of course.’
“‘We need to not just encourage Muslims around the world to try and lead a reform movement within Islam that rejects the Brotherhood, ISIS, Al Qaeda viewpoint, but we also need to highlight it when they do so,’ he said, pointing to the United Arab Emirates and Egypt as positive examples.”
With Tom Cotton so vehemently disagreeing with Donald Trump, why then is he meeting with Trump in Washington this week?
POLITICO reports the meeting will take place before Trump’s scheduled speech and meet and greet to a large pro-Israel conference taking place in the nation’s capital this week.
“A source close to Cotton, a first term Republican known for his hawkish foreign policy views, said that Cotton’s attendance did not signal an outright endorsement, but rather that he was interested in hearing what the Republican frontrunner has to say,” the news outlet reported.
In recent days, Donald Trump has drawn scorn from more than Cotton as he has traveled the country and drawing protests.
A protester at a March 19 event in Tucson, Arizona, was protesting the businessman candidate when he was unexpectedly attacked by a Trump supporter on his way out of the arena, police in tow. It was the second attack on a Trump protester by a Trump supporter captured on video in recent weeks.
The suspect in the Tucson attack was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor. His name, Tony Pettway, has turned up information on his background, including the fact that he is a vet, The Inquisitr previously reported.
“Some are calling Pettway varying names, while others are tying Pettway’s Facebook page to that of a man named ‘Tony Pettway’ — who appears in Navy military outfits. These claims have not been verified by police, who haven’t released the mugshot of Pettway to the press yet, but that hasn’t stopped Twitter users from releasing their own versions of mugshots of Tony.”
What do you think about Tom Cotton’s planned meeting with Trump? Is he going to show support or to express disappointment in the candidate? Do you think the violence has gotten out of control at Trump events? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
[Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images]
