Flake won’t rule out 2020 presidential bid

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who announced his retirement and ripped President Trump during a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday, did not rule out a presidential bid during an interview early Wednesday. 

“That’s a long time away, and we’ll deal with that when it comes to it,” Flake told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, when asked if he was ruling out a 2020 campaign. 

“I’m focused on my next 14 months in the Senate, making sure we get some good policy. There are some things I want to accomplish in the short term,” he said. 

“That is not on my radar,” Scott said on CNN’s “New Day” when asked about challenging President Trump in 2020.

“I haven’t entertained that thought for very long.”

{mosads}Flake’s comments come one day after he rebuked Trump on the Senate floor, describing the president’s leadership as “reckless, outrageous and undignified.”

“Without fear of the consequences and without consideration of the rules of what is politically safe or palatable, we must stop pretending that the degradation of our politics and the conduct of some in our executive branch are normal,” the outgoing Arizona senator said. 

Flake has not shied away from criticizing Trump in the past. 

The senator has slammed Trump’s leadership during numerous television interviews, and highlighted his concerns about the future of the GOP in his book, “Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle.” 

Flake joins fellow Republican Trump critic Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.) in not seeking reelection in 2018. 

The White House, which has not shied away from criticizing Flake, reacted positively to his decision, with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying Flake and Corker “were not likely to be reelected.”

— This report was updated at 8:12 a.m.