Former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) pushed Republicans to speak out on President Trump’s foreign policy in a Thursday opinion piece for The Washington Post.
“America’s global leadership has never been perfect, but it has been indispensable. For decades, our willingness to engage — to lead not only with our military or markets but also with our values — has helped sustain global stability and promote freedom. That role is now in jeopardy,” Flake said in the piece.
“That brings us to Congress — particularly my fellow Republicans. The responsibility to speak out now rests with you,” he added.
During the first few months of his second term, the president has strained relationships with longtime allies like the European Union and Canada over trade policy and went after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who the U.S. had previously largely supported throughout his country’s war with Russia.
“During President Trump’s first term, those who valued America’s global leadership could take some comfort in knowing that senior officials were quietly working behind the scenes to mitigate the president’s more reckless instincts,” Flake, who served in Congress during Trump’s first term, said in the Thursday piece.
“But today, that containment is gone,” he added. “The voices of restraint within the administration have largely fallen silent. Degrading our allies and admiring autocrats are no longer exceptions — they are part of the message. Diplomatic damage control is rare, if it happens at all.”
Flake also has his own notable foreign policy experience, having served during the Biden administration from 2022 to 2024 as the ambassador to Turkey. He also announced his backing of former Vice President Harris’s failed 2024 presidential bid back in September.
“Having spent the past three years overseas as a U.S. Ambassador, I’ve seen up close that we have very real enemies abroad,” Flake said in a prior statement posted to the social platform X. “We also have vital and indispensable allies.”
“I want to support a presidential candidate who understands and appreciates the difference,” he added.
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