Former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) on Friday blasted former President Jimmy Carter for challenging the legitimacy of Donald Trumpâs presidency because of Kremlin interference in the 2016 election.
Flake, who announced his retirement from the Senate in 2017 after half-hearted and ineffective opposition to some presidential policies, tweeted that challenging Trumpâs right to be in the White House was âawful.â Twitter foes had a difficult time swallowing the flip-flopping Republicanâs self-righteousness.
Special counsel Robert Muellerâs investigation found that Russia waged a âsweeping and systematicâ influence campaign during the 2016 presidential election with the goal of electing Trump, who still failed to win the popular vote.
âThereâs no doubt that the Russians did interfere in the election,â Carter said Friday at the Carter Centerâs retreat in Virginia. âI think the interference ... if fully investigated would show that Trump actually didnât win the election in 2016 .... He was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.â
Asked if he thought Trump was an âillegitimate president,â Carter responded: âBased on what I just said, which I canât retract.â
Flakeâs foes on Twitter werenât too broken up about his offended sensibilities.
