![]() ![]() ![]() “In some sense, it’s about all they know,” Flake said of his kids. He was just a year old when his dad was first elected to Congress. Another, his youngest, had spent the summer interning at the Capitol. One of his sons was serving in a Mormon mission overseas, and unreachable by phone, so they corresponded via email. And the more he grappled with what it would take to win, the more he realized he didn’t have it in him.Īs he weighed the decision with his wife, Cheryl, he made a point of soliciting advice from each of his five children. The polls looked bad the fundraising was daunting. He was facing a well-funded primary challenger and a wrathful revolt from the Republican base over his public criticism of President Trump. Why People Get the ‘Sunday Scaries’ Joe Pinskerįlake told me he started thinking seriously about bowing out of his reelection bid a few weeks ago. Now, with the day winding down, he seemed to be in a more reflective mood. From there, he’d been hustled from one interview to the next, with barely a chance to catch his breath. President, I will not be complicit,” he said. “I have children and grandchildren to answer to, and so, Mr. Shortly after the story was published, Flake delivered a righteously indignant speech from the floor of the Senate in which he railed against President Trump’s “reckless, outrageous, and undignified behavior,” and the partisans who try to defend and justify it. “There may not be a place for a Republican like me in the current Republican climate or the current Republican Party,” he told the paper. “It’s been quite a day,” he said, sighing, and chuckling, and then sighing again.įor Flake, the day had begun with an interview in the Arizona Republic, in which he shared the remarkable news that he would not seek reelection next year. About six hours after taking to the Senate floor to announce his retirement and deliver a thundering indictment of his party, his president, and his country’s political culture, Arizona Senator Jeff Flake called me from his cell phone. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |