Former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) said in an interview published Tuesday that he doesn’t expect President Donald Trump to be reelected — but that if he is, it will spell “doom long-term” for the party.
He told the Deseret News that Trump’s reelection would be akin to Republicans losing California for years by taking a hardline tack on immigration in the 1990s.
“So you may win a battle, but you lose the war,” he said. “You can drill down on the base, and it may work in an election here or there, but at some point you run out of angry people.”
Flake also said that while his dream would be for Republicans to nominate someone other than Trump in 2020, he’s taking a close look at the Democratic field.
“I’ve worked closely with Michael Bennet. He’s a thoughtful, good man,” Flake said. “Amy Klobuchar, I worked with her on a number of issues. Cory Booker has downplayed a lot of his bipartisanship. And Joe Biden. It’s been nice to hear him say, ‘I can work with the other side.'”
Flake is now working as a CBS News contributor and on the lecture circuit after deciding not to run for reelection in 2018.
