Flake to appear in New Hampshire in March

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a frequent critic of President Trump who recently announced his retirement, will visit New Hampshire next month, WMUR reported on Tuesday. 

Flake’s appearance in the state, which holds the nation’s first presidential primary, will likely stoke speculation about a possible White House bid. 

He will appear at the annual “Politics and Eggs” event, organized by the New England Council and Saint Anselm College, which typically hosts prospective presidential candidates leading up to presidential primary seasons. Trump spoke at the event in January of 2014, before he declared his candidacy.

{mosads}When asked in December if he’s open to running for president in 2020, Flake told ABC, “I don’t rule anything out, but it’s not in my plans.” 

He did, however, acknowledge that if Trump sought reelection, the president would likely leave a “huge swath of a voters looking for something else.” 

Shortly after announcing his plans to retire last October, Flake delivered a speech on the Senate floor accusing Trump of “undermining our democratic norms and ideals.”

He later delivered another speech focused on Trump’s attacks on the press, in which the senator compared the president to Josef Stalin.