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Tennessee Senator Bob Corker with daughter Emily, wife Elizabeth and daughter Julia.
Retiring Tennessee Senator Bob Corker is now the target of President Donald Trump’s angry tweets, even though he’s a highly respected member of the president’s own party. The 65-year-old Corker will retire in 2018 and is married to Elizabeth Corker. They have two daughters, Julia and Emily.
Corker was a nearly establishment supporter of Trump and was once considered a potential running mate before the election and a cabinet member after. But after Trump’s controversial reaction to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia in August, Corker’s position on Trump changed.
It all came to a head last week, when Corker said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly “help separate our country from chaos.”
Trump responded with a series of tweets, claiming that Corker is only retiring because he couldn’t get Trump’s endorsement. “I would fully expect Corker to be a negative voice and stand in the way of our great agenda. Didn’t have the guts to run,” Trump wrote. Corker then told the New York Times that Trump is treating the presidency like a “reality show” and making reckless threats could put the country on a “path to World War III.”
“It’s a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning,” Corker added on Twitter.
1. Daughter Julia Corker Spickard Was Carjacked in Washington D.C. in 2009
Corker’s eldest daughter, 30-year-old Julia Corker Spickard, made national headlines in 2009 when she was the victim of a carjacking in Washington D.C. in December that year. In a statement released by Corker’s office, Corker said his daughter was not injured, but was “sore and it’s obviously shaken her up.”
“It happened just half a block from our apartment in the Penn Quarter area, which is about nine blocks from the Capitol, an area … perceived to be a very safe and well-traveled area,” Corker told NBC Washington at the time.
The OnStar system on Julia’s car reportedly helped police in Seat Pleasant, Maryland find the suspects, who were identified by Julia and Corker.
Julia attended North Carolina State University and was an assistant on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions from March 2010 to November 2011, although her father was not on the committee. She’s been working for Worth Properties since January 2013.
Julia also worked for Coldwell Banker and TTR Sotheby’s in Washington before she returned to Tennessee.
Corker’s younger daughter, Emily, works in New York City. As Corker explained to CityScope Magazine, Corker said he is “so, so proud” of his daughters.
“Emily, my 25-year-old daughter, is working in New York as head of product development for a company called Feed Projects,” Corker said of Emily. “I talked to her today as a matter of fact, stepped out of a foreign relations hearing.”
At The FEED Project, Emily is manager of product development. The company was founded in 2007 by Lauren Bush Lauren who sells designer bags and helps fight hunger. “Every one of our products has a number stamped on it that signifies the amount of meals or micronutrient packets provided with its purchase,” notes the company’s site.
“I love how FEED is able to provide a product that is stylish, functional AND makes an impact on the world. Talk about a multitasking bag for the multi tasking person,” Emily told The Style Line.
According to her LinkedIn page, Emily has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and Affairs from the University of Georgia. She graduated in 2011.
4. Corker Once Said He Was Embarrassed to Tell His Parents We Planned to Run for Public Office
GettySenator Bob Corker.
Corker is the only child of Jean and Robert Phillips Corker. He was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina and moved to Tennessee when he was 11. He attended public schools in Chattanooga, where he would eventually become mayor in 2001. He served as mayor until 2005 and was elected to the Senate in November 2006.
In an interview with Esquire in 2010, Corker explained what his father taught him that has stuck with him.
“My dad just imprinted in my mind from a very young age that you always do what you say you’re gonna do when you say you’re gonna do it,” Corker, who also said he started working at age 13, told the magazine.
In a 2010 interview with NPR, Corker said he was embarrassed to tell his parents that he was considering running for public office.
“I was embarrassed when I went and told my parents that I was thinking about running for public office,” Corker told NPR. “No, I, you know, this – look, I started working when I was 13. I’d always expected to be in business. I respected businesspeople, okay?”
5. Corker & His Wife Have Been Married for 30 Years
GettySenator Bob Corker with his wife, Elizabeth, and Vice President Joe Biden in 2013.
Corker and his wife, Elizabeth Corker, celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year. They tied the knot in January 1987.
She was doing interior decorating for a friend of mine in Knoxville. And, he called, and we were all going to go do something on a particular Thursday night and get dates to do it. And so I kept calling her and she kept saying, “Weeeellll, I don’t know, I don’t know.” And finally, she said, “Look, I just don’t have time.” And so, I paused and said, “Well look, we know if I have time, you have time.” I mean, during those days I was staying up the entire night to, you know, get memos out, look at financials. I knew she was busy, but she couldn’t be that busy! So, yeah, I think that there was pause on her end for sure. (laughs) But we ended up going out and ended up getting married.
Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, the current target of President Donald Trump's anger, is married with two daughters. Here's a look at his family and children.
