Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) may be leaving Congress soon, but his latest statements suggest that he isn’t completely finished with politics and he may return to the spotlight as Trump’s worst nightmare.
In an interview with CNN, Flake was asked by Jim Acosta if he would launch a 2020 campaign or not. Flake initially didn’t want to give a straight answer, but stated that “somebody does need” to go up against Trump so that America doesn’t have to endure another four years of this madness:
You know, there are others that seem more willing than I am. I’ve been doing this for 18 years now. It’s nice to look forward to a little break, but somebody does need to challenge the president.”
Acosta doubled down and tried to clarify Flake’s response for 2020. Flake eventually hinted that it might be an option for him:
Like I said, I haven’t ruled it out. I’m a long way from there, but somebody needs to and I think that the country needs to be reminded of what it means to be conservative, certainly on the Republican side, and what it means to be decent as well, because we need a lot more of that in our politics.”
Flake as a primary challenger could be very bad news for Trump. He’s been a critical, outspoken voice when it comes to Trump and that might just be what the Republican Party needs to redeem itself after The Donald’s disastrous presidency.
Flake warned that if the Republican Party doesn’t shape up and figure out that it needs to appeal beyond its dwindling fan base, the GOP could be “on its way out.” And in a statement that differentiates himself from Trump greatly, Flake said, “both parties need to be rational and sane and try to govern rather than simply put forward the politics of resentment and anger.”
During the interview, Flake also slammed Trump for placing blame with the Democrats for the federal government shutdown. He said:
Anytime you stand and say ‘I own the shutdown,’ then you own it. ‘Shutdown 101’ tells you ‘shift the blame if you can.’ And when the president immediately said, ‘I’ll take the blame,’ then he’s got it.”
If Flake decides to run, the GOP may have just found a way to survive.
Featured image via screen capture
