President Trump may get his first primary challenge from former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who announced an exploratory committee Friday.
“It is time for all people of good will to take a stand and plant a flag…It’s for this reason that I have today established an Exploratory Committee to pursue the possibility for my running for the Presidency of the United States as a Republican in the 2020 election.” pic.twitter.com/LUrsyyo1fP
— Gov. Bill Weld (@GovBillWeld) February 15, 2019
Mr. Weld made the announcement at Politics and Eggs in New Hampshire early Friday morning.
“I’m here because I think our country is in grave peril,” Mr. Weld said, according to WMUR radio. “And I cannot sit quietly on the sidelines any longer.”
The former governor had a wide range of criticisms for the president, particularly on his treatment of and rhetoric toward the press, international allies and immigrants.
“If the president is re-elected, that means we have six more years of this,” he said.
Mr. Weld served as governor from 1991 to 1997 and became former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson’s running mate in the 2016 election as the Libertarian nominee. Mr. Weld recently changed his party registration back to Republican.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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