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(Reuters) - Jeff Flake, a Republican critic of U.S. President Donald Trump who retired from the U.S. Senate earlier this month, said on Tuesday he would not challenge Trump to become the party’s nominee in the 2020 White House race.

Flake, who represented Arizona during 18 years in the U.S. Congress, said in an interview with CBS News he had concluded it would be difficult for any Republican to challenge the incumbent president.

“I’ve always said that I do hope that there is a Republican who challenges the president in the primary,” Flake said, referring to state-by-state party nomination contests. “I still hope that somebody does, but that somebody won’t be me.”

Flake, one of his party’s most vocal critics of Trump, said the country deserves “far better” than Trump, whom he described as a debasing and dangerous force.

Still, Flake voted in line with Trump’s wishes more than 80 percent of the time, according to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight, a political data analysis website.

Flake said on CBS he believes the Republican National Committee and Trump’s election campaign organization are “melded,” making a challenge difficult.

“They’re trying to do everything they can to squelch any opposition,” said Flake, who is joining CBS News as a paid contributor.