GOP Sen. Jeff Flake, already one of the most outspoken critics of Donald Trump, said the Republican Party is “toast” if it continues to embrace the president and other extremist figures like Roy Moore.
Flake’s remarks came after a tax reform event when he was talking with Mesa Mayor John Gile and wasn’t aware they were still hooked up to a live mic.
The full report from ABC News:
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During the exchange, Flake said, “If we become the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump, we are toast.”
Mesa Mayor John Giles apparently agreed with the sentiment expressed by Flake, telling the Senator that he could be the guy “to point out what an idiot [Trump] is.”
Like Flake said, if the Republican Party continues to twist itself into a pretzel supporting amoral scam artists like Trump and Moore, it will have devastating consequences in the long term.
Sure, the strategy of embracing Trumpism could work in certain regions of the country in the short term – in Alabama, in particular – but it will likely hurt them in places that matter in future elections. We’ve already started to see this play out in countless elections since Trump took office.
If the GOP wants to be a competitive party that appeals to an increasingly diverse country, it will have to abandon Donald Trump, Roy Moore and the politics of bigotry and division that the two have perfected. At the very least, Republicans will have to start holding men like this accountable.
But with moderate Republicans like Flake and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker leaving the party, it’s hard to imagine that voices of reasons will be reclaiming the GOP anytime soon.
The embrace of Trumpism may play well to the base in the short term, but it’s a recipe for long-term disaster.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
