Republicans need to support a gentler immigration policy than the one being carried out under President Donald Trump, or the issue could harm the party, GOP Sen. Jeff Flake told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday.
The Arizona senator said he is very concerned about the anti-immigration fervor sweeping the party, saying "That's not the place the Republican Party wants to be in the future if we're going to be an inclusive party that speaks to a broader audience."
Flake, who was on the show to promote his new book, "Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle," said the GOP has steered away from the guiding values which once defined the movement.
"I'm concerned that the type of policies going forward — protectionism, isolationism — are really not conservative values and I am concerned where the party goes if we embrace those kind of principles."
He cited free trade as one such crucial issue for growth of the American economy, because U.S. products are always in need of new markets abroad, and protectionism would severely limit the ability to fully penetrate those markets.
When asked about key moments in the Trump presidency where conservatives should have objected more forcefully, Flake said he was particular concerned about the timing of the firing of FBI Director James Comey and the reason stated of the Russia investigation, saying "that should have set off more alarm bells than it did."
Flake also said he opposed the increased embracing of meanness in the GOP, which he said has become a coarser party.
"To be conservative can't be to embrace conspiracy theories or to talk about alternative facts," the senator said. "There are truths that are self-evident. We have to as a country agree on certain things, if we don't, we are going to have a hard time moving ahead and solving the problems."
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