Flake on hot mic: GOP ‘toast’ if we become the party of Trump, Moore

Republican Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) was caught on a hot mic Saturday warning that the Republican Party will be “toast” if it becomes the party of President Trump and Roy Moore.

At a tax-reform event in Arizona on Saturday, Flake was caught on a live microphone by ABC affiliate KNXV bashing the president in a conversation with Mesa Mayor John Giles, a friend of Flake’s.

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“If we become the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump, we are toast,” Flake is overheard saying.

Giles, a moderate Republican who has been mayor of Mesa since 2014, is also heard on the recording making comments appearing to encourage Flake to mount a primary challenge against Trump in 2020.

“I am not throwing smoke at you, but you are the guy — just for fun, think about how much fun it would be — just to be the foil, you know, and point out what an idiot this guy is,” Giles says, apparently referring to Trump. “Anyway, I hope you do it.”

Flake has been a staunch critic of Trump, and announced in October that he would not seek reelection to his Senate seat in 2018.

In a speech on the Senate floor, he accused his party of abandoning its core principles.