Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., went beyond several of his colleagues’ criticism Tuesday to suggest that Donald Trump’s recent attacks on a federal judge could “spur” a challenge at the Republican National Convention.
“Let’s face it: meet the old Trump, just like the new Trump. We’ve got what we’ve got,” Flake told reporters on Capitol Hill. “That’s not somebody who can win the White House.”
“Where there’s no talk of a convention challenge or anything else, this might spur it,” he added.
Unlike other GOP lawmakers, who find themselves disagreeing with Trump’s latest attacks after offering the presumptive Republican presidential nominee their full-fledged support, Flake has so far declined to endorse the billionaire.
During an interview Monday, Flake told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough it’s “uncomfortable not having endorsed the Republican nominee.”
“But I can’t at this point,” he noted. “I hope to be able to support the nominee. I certainly can’t right now.”
Trump set off a storm of criticism last week when he spent several minutes assailing U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a civil fraud case involving Trump University.
“I have a judge who is a hater of Donald Trump – a hater. He’s a hater. His name is Gonzalo Curiel. And he is not doing the right thing,” Trump told supporters at a rally in California, adding that Curiel “happens to be – we believe – Mexican.”
Trump has since described Curiel’s Mexican heritage as an “inherent conflict of interest” and suggested the Indiana-born judge recuse himself from the case.
“His statements this week on the judge — that’s a new level,” Flake said Monday. “Because it’s not just ill-informed or ignorant statements … they suggest that when he’s president, you know, after November, that perhaps he ought to go after that judge.”
“That’s a whole new level. It’s very disturbing,” he added.
