A key Republican is breaking ranks with President Donald Trump — and he’s not afraid to tell him.
Sen. John Curtis — the Utah politician who replaced Sen. Mitt Romney last year — told CNN Sunday that it's essential to be an independent thinker and to challenge Trump.
His comments come as critics claim most of the Republican Party has been reluctant to oppose the president, afraid of the power he wields in the party and among his base.
"People who have spoken out against him have been drummed out of the party," Raju told him.
"That's a stereotype," he hit back.
“I really think the best way to make President Trump successful is to let him know when we disagree,” Curtis told host Manu Raju on “Insider Politics Sunday.”
Among the issues he’s speaking out about are Trump’s trade tariffs and his plan to accept a $400 million jet as a gift from Qatar.
“We serve the president best when we act and function more like a board of directors,” he said. “You wouldn’t want a board of directors to rubber stamp the president of a company, right?”
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Curtis didn’t back Trump in the 2024 presidential primary. And it's no secret that Trump has targeted Republicans who have not agreed with him.
But he said he isn’t afraid of the threat of repercussions for speaking out, saying Trump actually has ‘respect’ for disagreement in “the right way, the right time, the right place.”
“If I send out a mean, nasty tweet, of course, that’s not received well, but if I have a thoughtful conversation with the administration about how I see something, I hope and trust that he actually values that as somebody who wants to help him,” he said.
Watch the video below or at this link.