Story highlights
Flake is one of the sharpest GOP critics of Trump in the Senate
Flake also rebuked Trump for getting into a war of words with a Latina beauty queen
GOP Sen. Jeff Flake thinks he’ll have a new place to call home if Donald Trump wins the presidency.
“I think I’ll be in Gitmo,” Flake joked Thursday, referring to the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Flake, a first-term Arizona Republican and one of the sharpest GOP critics of Trump in the Senate, also rebuked Trump for getting into a war of words with a Latina former beauty queen, Alicia Machado.
“That’s Trump being Trump,” Flake told CNN. “That’s what so frustrating to have a Republican candidate whom you hope can challenge the philosophy of the Democratic candidate or their record. Instead, he’s going down rabbit holes – talking about beauty pageants. It’s not surprising, he’s done that all along.”
Flake added that he’s not surprised the Arizona Republic endorsed Hillary Clinton, the first time the paper’s conservative editorial board backed a Democrat since its founding in 1890.
“I don’t blame them for not endorsing Donald Trump. For all the reasons I talked about before,” Flake said. “It’s tough for anyone who really thinks about what Donald Trump will do long term to the party.”
Flake said he would not vote for Clinton, but added: “I can always write somebody in, but I can’t vote for Donald Trump.”