Trump Critic Jeff Flake Won't Run for President Against Him

(Bloomberg) -- Jeff Flake, the Arizona Republican who spent his final months in the Senate as President Donald Trump’s most vocal GOP critic, says he won’t mount a primary challenge to Trump.

"I have always said that I do hope that there is a Republican who challenges the president in the primary," Flake said in an interview on "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday. "I still hope that somebody does, but that somebody won’t be me. I will not be a candidate."

Flake, who declined to seek re-election to the Senate last year and has now joined CBS News as a contributor, said any such primary effort would be "difficult," noting that the Republican National Committee is working with the Trump campaign closely already to squelch potential opponents. However, he says without naming names, some Republicans are still discussing it.

To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Wallbank in Washington at dwallbank@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Derek Wallbank at dwallbank@bloomberg.net, Joi Preciphs

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