Former Republican Senator from Arizona Jeff Flake sees a future for a post-Trump Republican Party – one that focuses less on grievances and more on traditional conservative values of limited government, economic freedom and strong American leadership abroad.
But it’s going to take a willingness from Republicans to speak out, Flake told David Rind, host of CNN’s One Thing, on stage at the 2025 Cascade PBS Ideas Festival on Saturday. In an episode of the podcast recorded live at the festival, Rind and Flake discussed diplomacy under the second Trump administration, the Republican party in the Trump era and where conservatives go from here.
“To be conservative has now been equated with being angry and engaging in grievance politics, and it’s just not for me,” said Flake, former ambassador to Turkey and current director of the Institute of Politics at Arizona State University.
Flake served in the U.S. Senate from 2013 to 2019 and knows firsthand what it’s like to stand up to President Donald Trump. During Trump’s first term, Flake became a vocal critic of the president. His disapproval of Trump angered many in his party — so much so that he announced in 2017 he would not run for reelection. At the time, he said he did not believe there was a place for him in the Republican Party.
At Saturday’s event, Rind wanted to know: Did Flake regret that decision? Wouldn’t it have been easier to go along with his party?
“I definitely could have done that and won the election, but at what cost?” Flake said. “How could I face my kids? How could I sleep if I had just changed everything I believe?”
Now, in Trump’s second presidential term and ahead of the midterm elections, Flake said it’s time for his Republican colleagues to step up – both at home and abroad.
He said he hopes the midterms will offer some “course correction” on domestic issues. He said members of Congress are going to have to reckon with the fallout of Trump’s tariffs, his work gutting federal programs through the Department of Government Efficiency, and the effects of his spending plan on programs like Medicaid and Social Security. All of those could be “a difficult pill for voters to swallow,” Flake said.
“Members of Congress are going to look at the midterms, and say ‘Who am I more afraid of: my voters or the president? Or is it both?’” Flake said.
When it comes to foreign relations, Flake said Republican leaders and diplomats have a responsibility to reassure American allied countries.
When the president talked about making Canada the 51st state or taking Greenland, Flake said, it’s especially important to remind allies that “This is not us. This is not our party.”
Other nations are determining who they want to stand with right now, Flake said, and if they believe they can outlast this presidency, they won’t seek other alliances.
But, Rind asked, what’s the incentive for Republicans to speak up?
Flake said a reckoning will come eventually when voters and Republican leaders have had enough the current dominant strain of conservatism.
Flake said he understands it’s easier to fall in line with party leaders, but he believes there are many politicians in the middle who want to see a party that stands on principle, and not simply anger.
“I do think, at some point, Americans and my party will say, ‘Enough with grievance politics. Let’s get back to government,’” Flake said. “We’re going to need people who govern.”
Listen to the whole conversation on Cascade PBS at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 16. It will be available to stream on CascadePBS.org after that.
