Trump Now Campaigning Against Jeff Flake and the GOP Senate Majority

For the first time, Donald Trump has inserted himself into a 2018 Republican primary against an incumbent. The president tweeted Thursday morning that it was “great” to see Trump nemesis Jeff Flake of Arizona get a Republican challenger. “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. He's toxic!” Trump said.

We’re so used to Trump’s shots at Republicans he doesn’t like that the significance of this move is a bit lost. Flake may be the most vocal in his criticism of Trump, but he’s still a Republican senator well within the mainstream of his party and his conference on policy. He’s also in danger of losing his seat in red-but-turning-purple Arizona, which Democrats see as a long-term battleground. Trump may not like Flake, but he’ll want a Republican in that seat after the 2018 midterms. A successful (or even unsuccessful) primary challenge to the incumbent could hurt the chances of that if Trump’s ire keeps pushing Flake’s popularity among Republicans in Arizona downward.

Which is why Mitch McConnell and the National Republican Senatorial Committee were out later on Thursday to reiterate their support for Flake. “Jeff Flake is an excellent senator and a tireless advocate for Arizona and our nation,” said McConnell in a statement sent out by the NRSC. “He has my full support.”

And lest we think Trump’s tweet is just bluster, Politico reports that the president’s allies are actively looking for other challengers to Flake, including former congressman Matt Salmon, former state party chairman Robert Graham, and state treasurer Jeff DeWit. Cable news viewers may remember DeWit as one of the Trump campaign’s more reliable surrogates. (Ward is viewed as a sub-par challenger by Trump world, despite the president’s tweet encouraging her run.)

If Trump’s support for incumbent challengers continues, where does this leave the Republican party, which will be fighting hard to maintain its control of both houses of Congress next year? It’s hard to imagine in recent years any situation where a sitting president and the congressional leaders of his party are at odds in primaries. But it’s another piece of evidence that Trump, explicitly or not, is moving away from the party that gave him its nomination just a year ago.