25 August, 2017
As President Donald Trump heads down to Arizona for a rally Tuesday evening, a lot of the attention is focused on potential clashes between Trump supporters and protesters and the possibility he'll announce a pardon disgraced former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Ward is not a friend of the GOP Establishment, she ran against John McCain in the 2016 Senate primary and lost decisively. To absolutely no one's surprise, Trump struck back, tweeting five days later in support of Ward's challenge to Flake: "Great to see that Dr. Kelli Ward is running against Flake Jeff Flake, who is WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate".
Flake said at an East Valley Chambers of Commerce breakfast that the United States is "going to be left behind" if it turns away from trade deals, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership - from which Trump's administration withdrew earlier this year.
Mr. Flake recently penned a book, "Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle", that warned Mr. Trump's brand of populism threatened to destroy the conservative movement and the Republican Party.
President Trump took a jab at Arizona Sen. Already, a superPAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), has started hitting Ward for what it calls her "embarrassing behavior" and "crazy ideas". Jeff Flake, a NeverTrumper and one of the most unpopular senators in the country.
(WARD) I hope that we learned our life in Charlottesville and that people who want to come and express their opinion and utilize their first amendment right to free speech no matter if it's offensive to me or to you, to come out and do that peacefully. remember that hatred bigotry and violence have no place in our society just like the President said and i think the phoenix believe are going to be out in full force i think most of the people that are going to come or are going to be supporters of the president.
Speculation is running wild about Trump's upcoming rally in Phoenix.
Trump has been mulling whom to support as a challenger to the incumbent.
Trump is apparently looking to punish Flake for daring to buck Trump.
Still, Trump got almost 150,000 more votes than Flake did when he ran in 2012, a reminder of Trump's power to draw in new voters. "I don't think he represents the conservative viewpoint, the constitutional viewpoint".
During her time in the Arizona State Senate, Ward voted to approve legislation allowing people to claim "religious exemptions" and refuse to provide goods or services to people based on a business owner's personal opposition to homosexuality or same-sex marriage.
While many political operatives question if Ward is a strong enough candidate to win a general election, she is strongly supportive of the president and is an immigration hardliner.
Law says that polling conducted in several states shows Republican voters are interested in candidates who support the president's policy agenda.
For his part, Flake doesn't appear to be outwardly concerned about the president's attacks.
"I don't worry about it at all", Flake told reporters in Arizona on Monday when asked about Trump's criticism of him on Twitter, according to the Los Angeles Times. I'm running my own campaign. "I just go ahead and do my job".
