Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

Trump's Big 2018 Gamble

There's plenty of upside if the president manages to knock off Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona. It's also a big risk over a grudge.

July 17, 2017 at 9:27 PM UTC

By Jonathan Bernstein

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

Bad blood.
Photographer: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

Donald Trump is personally attempting to stop Republican Senator Jeff Flake's re-election in Arizona, with the White House reportedly meeting with three potential primary challengers. Flake is no Trump loyalist; he was one of the strongest Republican critics of Trump from his chamber during the presidential campaign. But while he does have some idiosyncratic positions -- he's no immigration hard-liner and he supported Barack Obama's Cuba policy -- Flake scores as one of the most conservative Republican senators.

Trump is likely doing this because of personal pique, not for grand strategic reasons. But a lot rides on it.