Story highlights Trump said Flake was caught "saying bad things about your favorite President"

Flake said it was essentially what he had already said in public

(CNN) After a live microphone captured him criticizing President Donald Trump, Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake said Monday the comments he made are more or less what he says publicly.

"I realized I probably hadn't said anything that I hadn't said in public," Flake said in an interview on KFYI radio in Phoenix.

He continued, "And it was the case. I've been saying for anyone who would listen that we are in trouble as a party if we continue to follow both Roy Moore and Donald Trump. I just don't think that is the direction for the party."

Flake has been an outspoken critic of Trump's behavior and his approach on a few issues like immigration and trade, and he has disavowed Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore.

At a town hall event last week in Mesa, Arizona, Flake left a microphone on his lapel as he left the stage. The microphone captured Flake saying he thought if the GOP becomes "the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump, we are toast."

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