President Donald Trump blasted Republican Senator Jeff Flake on Twitter on Sunday, calling his political career ‘toast’ after the Arizona congressman was caught on mic criticizing the President and Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore.
After a town hall event Flake was hosting in Mesa, Arizona, he stepped off the stage without removing the microphone on his lapel, which was still feeding to the TV cameras in the back of the room.
While speaking to Mesa Mayor John Giles, Flake said if the GOP becomes ‘the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump, we are toast’.
Trump retorted on Sunday evening using the senator’s own words, tweeting: ‘Senator Jeff Flake(y)’ will ‘be a NO on tax cuts because his political career anyway is “toast”.’
President Donald Trump (pictured, November 2017) blasted Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake on Twitter on Sunday evening, calling his political career ‘toast’ after he was caught on mic criticizing the President and Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore
While speaking to Mesa Mayor John Giles after he stepped off stage at a town hall event on Friday (pictured), Flake was heard saying if the GOP becomes ‘the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump, we are toast’
Trump retorted on Sunday evening using the senator’s own words, tweeting: ‘Senator Jeff Flake(y)’ will ‘be a NO on tax cuts because his political career anyway is “toast”‘
Trump appeared to be predicting that Flake would vote against the GOP tax bill.
In return, Flake’s spokesman, Jason Samuels, told CNN: ‘Senator Flake is still reviewing the tax reform bill on its merits. How he votes on it will have nothing to do with the President.’
The House of Representatives passed their version of legislation last week but the fight be harder in the Senate, where Republicans hold a slim two-seat majority.
Wisconsin GOP Senator Ron Johnson has already publicly stated he opposes the bill in its current but that he is open to negotiating changes.
Susan Collins of Maine has also voiced concerns with the bill – as has Flake.
Flake told CNN last month that he wouldn’t be voting for the bill if he thought it was fiscally irresponsible.
And Collins told the network that she believed more should be done to help those earning lower and middle incomes.
Trump appeared to be predicting that Flake (pictured, October 2017) would vote against the GOP tax bill but Flake’s spokesman says the congressman has not decided which way he will vote yet
Trump (pictured, October 2017) has said he wants a bill passed by the end of the year. More than two Republican defections in the Senate would likely kill the bill and Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has already publicly stated he opposes the bill in its current form
‘It benefits people of all tax brackets, but what I want to do is to skew more of that relief to middle- and low-income families,’ she said.
Flake announced last month that he would not be seeking reelection.
In an impassioned speech on the Senate floor announcing his retirement, Flake said he would not be ‘complicit’ with the Trump administration.
‘It is time for our complicity and our accommodation of the unacceptable to end,’ he said.