GOP lawmakers are praising President Trump’s relatively quiet presence on Twitter during his first trip abroad this month – a trend they hope continues when he returns to Washington.
{mosads}”He needs to get off Twitter, I think he’s his own worst enemy when it comes to Twitter,” Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) said in an interview with The Hill’s Molly K. Hooper.
Sanford recalled a recent exchange with a constituent who he says urged him, “Would you tell that guy [Trump] to shut up? He has an opinion about everything under the sun. No one has an opinion about everything under the sun.”
Other Republican lawmakers made more restrained pleas to Trump.
“I’m of the camp that believes [Trump] ought to put tweeting aside and focus on the strong policy messages,” said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.).
Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) jokingly prayed aloud that Trump would “retire (tweeting) for a little bit. Do the monastic thing for about a week at least.”
Fellow GOP Rep. Steve Chabot (Ohio) added “maybe” Trump would “keep the Twitter account to a minimum, if he doesn’t lose it altogether.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth (Ky.) argued that Trump – when faced with a “firestorm” of leaks on the Russia investigation – won’t keep up the calm.
“I don’t think that’s his personality,” Yarmuth said, predicting that when Trump sees the “coverage of that whole issue, he will not be able to resist striking back.”
Watch the video above to see the lawmakers in their own words.