Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said Sunday he hopes somebody will challenge President Trump in the 2020 Republican presidential primary as a means of reviving limited government conservatism.
During a segment of ABC’s “This Week,” the outgoing GOP lawmaker told host George Stephanopolous that the current political climate is not conducive to victory for Republican candidates who voice opposition to the current administration, as Flake himself has done many times — earning the frustration and vocal disapproval of the president.
“You can’t, as a Republican these days, stand in opposition to the president’s policies or not condone his behavior and expect to win a Republican primary,” Flake said. “I don’t think that will last, but it is the reality right now.”
GOP Sen. Jeff Flake says he hopes that somebody challenges Pres. Trump in the Republican primary “just to remind Republicans what it means to be conservative” https://t.co/2AGIg96u5B #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/ta4EWEvbfC
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 24, 2018
Flake’s own consistent critique of Trump helped undermine his popularity in his state, and ultimately forced him to abandon running for re-election.
When Stephanopoulos asked if he was interested in challenging the president in the 2020 election, Flake neglected to give a direct response. Instead, he noted that he hopes that “somebody does,” as a way to “remind republicans what it means to be conservative, or Republican.”
“That we believe in limited government, economic freedom, free trade, immigration — I hope that somebody does that,” Flake said.
Last month, Flake addressed Harvard Law School graduates in a commencement speech and took the opportunity to give his opinion on the conservative movement in the age of Trump.
“Our presidency has been debased by a figure who has a seemingly bottomless appetite for destruction and division and only a passing familiarity with how the Constitution works,” Flake said. “You might reasonably ask, where is the good news in that? Well, simply put: We may have hit bottom.”
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