Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake announced that Donald Trump might not win The Grand Canyon State. Mr. Flake made the not very surprising comments during an appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday.
The junior United States Senator from Arizona believes that if a significant portion of the Latino population in the state comes out for the Democrats in the fall election, Hillary Clinton could win the state and therefore become the next president.
According to Flake and the rest of the universe, Trump might have killed his chances of becoming the leader of this great nation when he insulted Mexican immigrants the day he announced his campaign. Moreover, his absurd statements about Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel, of the United States District Court in San Diego, being a hater and a Mexican did not help his case with Latinos and independents.
Flake, who has refused to support Trump, had the following exchange with Face the Nation host John Dickerson:
DICKERSON: One of the arguments supporters of Donald Trump say is that if he were in office he would be there to sign what Paul Ryan has put forward, what Republicans have put forward, and that he’d be ready to do it. So why isn’t that a good argument for his candidacy with all those policies Republicans want to see passed? They’d have a willing partner in Donald Trump.
FLAKE: That would certainly be great, but I would argue that he simply can’t get there. You can’t go on and get 65 million votes — he’s only received about 14 million votes in the primaries so far. To get from 14 to 65 or so, you’ve got to take more responsible positions with regard to policy and you also have to change the tone and tenor, and if none of us on the Republican side are pushing back and saying that needs to change, then I don’t believe he will change. And he has to change if he’s going to win that election and we’re going to get the policy that we need in the White House.
DICKERSON: You mentioned Arizona and some of the effects of what Mr. Trump said on voters in that state. So is there any chance that Hillary Clinton could win in Arizona?FLAKE: In 1996 Bill Clinton won in Arizona, so yes, it is possible. You know, the Hispanic population here is about 33 percent. The voting population among Hispanics isn’t as large, but it is growing. And the poll also showed that there is an increased urgency among Hispanics to vote. And if they do, then it will be a changed ballgame here.
We in Arizona realize that we have to have meaningful immigration reform. You can’t just throw platitudes out about a wall or about Mexico paying for it and be taken seriously here. So I think that yes, he does have to change his positions and be a more serious candidate.
In that same interview, Flake asked Trump to apologize to the Khan family. The gold star parents, who lost their son, Humayun Khan, an American soldier, in 2004 during the Iraq War, and had a week-long feud with the mogul.
The most recent polls suggest that Flake is correct about Trump’s slim chances in Arizona. Believe it or not, Clinton is at 44.3 percent while Trump sits at 44.4 percent.
No Democrat has won Arizona in the 20 years since Bill Clinton’s victory in 1996. If the former Secretary of State turns Arizona blue, it would be a landslide victory a la Ronald Reagan for Mrs. Clinton.
