'Bad advice': Republicans criticize Trump's policies without going directly at him

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump may at times do things that Republicans don’t like, but they say it’s not his fault. The reticence of Republicans to criticize Trump directly is not new, but there has been an uptick in recent months of Republicans using the rationale that it’s not Trump making bad decisions - it’s that he’s received “bad advice” or is not actually serious about some of his most high-profile policy proposals. It’s a way for them to disagree with the president’s ideas without actually disagreeing with him. Though he is not alone, Sen. Thom Tillis uses the strategy most often. The North Carolina Republican, who is not running for re-election, is more willing to break with the president than others in the party. But even he often goes at the president through the side door. Tillis has said Trump has gotten “bad advice” on issues ranging from a proposed U.S. takeover of Greenland; repeated attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell; criticisms of Sen. Chuck Grassley , R-Iowa, on approving judicial nominees; and the pardon of Jan. 6 rioters . “The president has been given bad advice, and whoever gave him bad advice should probably not be in that role,” Tillis told NBC News last week of Trump’s Greenland pronouncements. The idea of conquering a territory the size of Greenland - against the will of many of the people there, as well as the current steward , Denmark - is unpopular with most congressional Republicans, and even more so with the general public . Despite the widespread opposition to the plan, Republican lawmakers have tiptoed around criticizing the president, again saying he is not serious or has been poorly advised. “All this stuff about military action and all that, I don’t even think that’s a possibility,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters last week. “I don’t think anybody’s seriously considering that.” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., told reporters Trump had “trolled” the media . Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., a staunch Trump supporter, also directly brushed off the idea that Trump was serious about using military force to invade Greenland, even as the president keeps the option on the table. “Even a modestly intelligent ninth-grader knows that to invade Greenland would be weapons-grade stupid,” he told reporters earlier this week. “Now, President Trump is not weapons-grade stupid, nor is [State Secretary] Marco Rubio. They do not plan to invade Greenland.” On Sunday, Trump reiterated his belief that, “ One way or the other , we’re going to have Greenland.” Trump has had a solid grip on the Republican Party for the past decade, able to make and break the careers of politicians. That power has made direct criticism of Trump a third rail of modern Republican politics, something on full display during his second term. Over the past year, Trump has proposed initiatives that have seemingly been at odds with conservatives and his own MAGA political base, leaving them to blame unnamed external forces for Trump steering off course....

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