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WASHINGTON, Oct. 25-- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday fired back at sharp criticism by Republican Senators Jeff Flake and Bob Corker, claiming they decided not to seek re-election only because they have no chance to win, while touting his "love fest" with Republican senators. The two senators will serve out the remaining 14 months of their terms but are unbound by the political burdens of running for reelection in 2018. In his speech to announce his retirement on Tuesday, Flake condemned the nastiness of Republican politics in the United States under the Trump era, assailing a "flagrant disregard for truth or decency" and a "regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms." Also on Tuesday, Corker exchanged a bitter war of words with the president via Twitter and TV outlets, calling Trump "an utterly untruthful president" "debasing" the United States. He has previously said the White House was an "adult day care center" and expressed concern that Trump could lead the country into "World War III." "The reason Flake and Corker dropped out of the Senate race is very simple, they had zero chance of being elected. Now act so hurt & wounded!" Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. "The meeting with Republican Senators yesterday, outside of Flake and Corker, was a love fest with standing ovations and great ideas for USA!" the president said on Twitter. "There is a sickness in our system - and it is contagious." Flake, one of the Senate's most prominent critics of Trump, wrote in an op-ed issued by The Washington Post on Wednesday, urging bipartisan lawmakers to "stand up and speak out." | 
