Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on Wednesday said President Donald Trump is “inviting” a Republican contender to challenge him for the presidential nomination in 2020 with his present style of governing.
“The direction he’s headed right now, just kind of drilling down on the base rather than trying to expand the base, you know, I think he’s inviting one,” Flake said in an interview on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind,” first surfaced by CNN’s KFILE.
Flake said whether a primary challenger comes forward or not “certainly depends on” Trump.
“I think he could govern in a way that he wouldn’t” invite such a challenge, Flake said. “You know, I don’t know. I don’t know. I think that certainly depends on him.”
Trump spent the last week publicly criticizing Flake and praising the senator’s own potential 2018 primary challengers. He called Flake “toxic” in a tweet and “weak on borders, crime and a non-factor in the Senate,” while applauding former Arizona state Sen. Kelli Ward (R) for running against him.
He continued to attack Flake after a rally in the senator’s home state Tuesday, where the President reportedly met with Flake’s potential challengers backstage to discuss getting rid of the senator.
Flake on Thursday morning brushed off Trump’s disapproval and said it was the President’s “prerogative” to act as he wishes.
“I just have to concern myself with my own campaign and my day job of being a senator,” Flake said on Fox News. “So what the President does or — that’s his prerogative.”
