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# Former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake on the Past & Future of GOP Politics
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/podcasts/cascade-pbs-ideas-festival/2025/06/former-u-s-sen-jeff-flake-on-the-past-future-of-gop-politics/
- Published: 2025-06-23T11:55:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-12T07:13:09.000Z
- Description: In a live taping of CCN's One Thing, Flake speaks with host David Rind about a post-Trump era and his hopes for a party of governance, not grievance.
- Author: Paris Jackson
- Tags: Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, #podcast, #dovetail_6ddeaeb3-7a9b-4b6b-88ad-069f50beadce

In a live taping of CCN's *One Thing*, Flake speaks with host David Rind about a post-Trump era and his hopes for a party of governance, not grievance.

Former U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R – Arizona) is perhaps best known for his early and vocal criticism of President Donald Trump. In 2017, Flake announced he would not run for reelection, largely because he saw no room for a moderate, anti-Trump Republican in Congress. 

As part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in late May, Flake took the stage with David Rind, host of CNN’s [*One Thing*](https://www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/one-thing?ref=cascadepbs.org) podcast, to dig into how Flake feels about that decision today and what it all means during a second Trump administration. 

In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, Rind and Flake discuss the anger and grievance that dominates American politics; Flake’s role as ambassador to Turkey during the Biden administration; how American diplomacy has been impacted by Trump 2.0; and what a future Republican party could look like. 

This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025\. 

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Credits

Host: [Paris Jackson](https://crosscut.com/author/paris-jackson?ref=cascadepbs.org)

Producer: [Sara Bernard](https://www.cascadepbs.org/author/sara-bernard)

Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd

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