--- description: Sen. Jeff Flake was caught on a hot mic calling the Republican party "toast" if it becomes the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump title: Sen. Jeff Flake Called the GOP 'Toast' on a Hot Mic image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f7c24c057d912e8/6988e671096a9499356a079c/jeff-flake-gop-toast.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Senate](/tag/senate/) ## Senate Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Republican Senator Jeff Flake Calls the GOP 'Toast' on a Hot Mic  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Nov 18, 2017 9:40 PM CUT  Sen. Jeff Flake looks on during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Oct. 30, 2017 in Washington, DC. Sen. Jeff Flake looks on during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Oct. 30, 2017 in Washington, DC.Drew Angerer—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Nov 18, 2017 9:40 PM CUT Sen. Jeff Flake was caught on a hot mic Friday bashing President Donald Trump and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. Flake’s gaffe occurred at a tax reform event in Mesa, Ariz., [ABC News reports](http://abc7ny.com/politics/jeff-flake-on-hot-mic-gop-is-toast-with-trump-moore/2666655/ "undefined"). The Arizona senator was talking to friend and Mesa Mayor John Giles, and apparently did not realize his microphone was still on. “If \[Republicans\] become [the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump](http://time.com/5030698/sexual-harassment-trump/ "undefined"), we are toast,” ABC affiliate KNXV caught Flake saying. Flake’s comments on Friday may not have been intended for public consumption, but the Republican has made himself a highly visible Trump adversary in the past. Most notably, [Flake announced in October that he would conclude his Senate service in January 2019](http://time.com/4995650/arizona-jeff-flake-retire-donald-trump-republican-party/ "undefined") due to the state of the administration and the political climate. “I am aware that a segment of my party believes that anything short of complete and unquestioning loyalty to a president who belongs to my party is unacceptable and suspect,” he said on the Senate floor. “If I have been critical, it not because I relish criticizing the behavior of the president of the United States. If I have been critical, it is because I believe that it is my obligation to do so, as a matter of duty and conscience.” Giles, meanwhile, was caught making some inflammatory comments of his own on Friday, while apparently encouraging Flake to run for president, ABC reports. “Think about how much fun it would be — just to be the foil, you know, and point out what an idiot this guy is,” Giles said, seemingly alluding to Trump. “Anyway, I hope you do it.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5030868/jeff-flake-gop-toast/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5030868/jeff-flake-gop-toast/"},"headline":"Republican Senator Jeff Flake Calls the GOP 'Toast' on a Hot Mic","datePublished":"2017-11-18T21:40:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:18:23.550Z","description":"The Arizona senator bashed Donald Trump and Roy Moore","url":"https://time.com/5030868/jeff-flake-gop-toast/","keywords":["Senate","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f7c24c057d912e8/6988e671096a9499356a079c/jeff-flake-gop-toast.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f7c24c057d912e8/6988e671096a9499356a079c/jeff-flake-gop-toast.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tillerson And Mattis Testify At Senate Hearing On Authorization Of Use Of Force","caption":"Tillerson And Mattis Testify At Senate Hearing On Authorization Of Use Of Force","creditText":"Drew Angerer—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/senate/","name":"Senate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5030868/jeff-flake-gop-toast/","name":"Republican Senator Jeff Flake Calls the GOP 'Toast' on a Hot Mic"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Arizona Senator Jeff Flake Will Not Seek Reelection: 'I Will Not Be Complicit'","description":"Arizona Senator Jeff Flake said Tuesday he will not seek reelection, and gave an extraordinary rebuke on the Senate floor to President Donald Trump and the rightward shift of the Republican party.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/xfV1B0Af/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-10-24T20:22:20.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xfV1B0Af.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5030868/jeff-flake-gop-toast/","duration":"PT2M8S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5030868/jeff-flake-gop-toast/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```