Republican Sen. Mark Kirk has done everything he can to distance himself from Donald Trump in his bid to keep his job in blue Illinois, running against Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth. Everything except not sounding just like Trump when discussing President Obama. WASHINGTON (CNN) —Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk criticized President Barack Obama for delivering money to the Iranian government in coordination with the release of Americans being held prisoner there—saying he was "acting like the drug dealer in chief." The comments came in a sit-down last week with the editorial board of The State Journal-Register, according to the Illinois paper's political writer. "We can't have the president of the United States acting like the drug dealer in chief," Kirk said.