Two senators present for Flake’s anti-Trump speech

Two senators were present for Sen. Jeff Flake’s (R-Ariz.) speech on the Senate floor Wednesday criticizing President Trump’s attacks on the news media.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) listened to Flake’s speech in the chamber and spoke in support of his comments after. 

{mosads}”I’m afraid once again that his actions will cast a shadow over our constitutional commitment to the basic freedoms we enjoy in America,” Durbin said, referencing Trump’s relationship with the news media. 

Senators do not normally sit in and listen to other senator’s speeches. 

The speech was carried live by CNN and C-SPAN. 

Flake’s highly anticipated speech hit Trump on his treatment of the press and compared the president to former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. 

“2018 must be the year in which the truth takes a stand against power that would weaken it,” Flake said. 

“Together we have it within us to turn back these attacks, to write these wrongs, repair this damage, restore reverence for our institutions and prevent moral vandalism,” he continued. 

Flake, who announced last year he will not seek reelection this year, has been one of Trump’s most outspoken critics in the Republican Party.