Sen. Jeff Flake Urges Local GOP Not to Host Trump Event

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake is urging the local Republican Party in Maricopa County to distance itself from a event on Saturday featuring presidential candidate Donald Trump, The Washington Post reports.

Flake told the Post Trump's views on illegal immigrants as criminals are not reflective of the party as a whole. Flake and fellow Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain have supported immigration reform legislation not favored by more conservative members of the party.

"As an elected official and as a Republican, I’m not excited about this, to say the least," Flake said of Saturday's event where Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio will also be in attendance.

Flake called Trump's views on illegal immigrants "ill-informed" and "not accurate."

"It's not just on the immigration side. Donald Trump is just about the last unapologetic birther in the country," Flake said, adding that Arpaio also is an "unapologetic birther."

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