Sen. Bob Corker: GOP voters don't care about issues now -- they only want 'tribal' loyalty to Trump

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) admitted this week that the Republican Party is worried about confronting President Donald Trump over his attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller because their voter base demands total loyalty to the president.

In a Washington Examiner interview cited by the Washington Post's Greg Sargent, Corker said that Republican candidates he's spoke with are getting not-so-subtle signals that crossing Trump could imperil their political aspirations.

"People who tell me, who are out on trail, say, look, people don't ask about issues anymore," Corker said. "They don't care about issues. They want to know if you’re with Trump or not."

Corker, who is retiring instead of seeking reelection this year and who has at times clashed with the president, also said that GOP voters' support for Trump was "more than strong" and was "tribal in nature."

Republican leaders have been warning Trump to not fire or antagonize special counsel Robert Mueller, but the president has so far not heeded their advice and continued attacking the probe on Twitter Wednesday morning.