Trump was just blindsided by surprise 2020 primary challenge from within his own party

Someone is finally daring to question Donald Trump’s heretofore unquestioned dominance of the Republican party.

Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld announced today that he would be running against Trump in the Republican primaries for the 2020 presidential election.

The 73-year-old Republican is no stranger to presidential races having run as the vice-presidential candidate on the Libertarian party ticket as Gary Johnson’s running mate in 2016.

Appearing on CNN after his announcement, Weld explained why he felt compelled to enter a race that few believe that he has a chance of winning against an incumbent president who has commandeered all of the levers of power within the GOP and who has the added reelection incentive of facing possible indictment once he’s no longer a sitting president.

“I really think if we have six more years of the same stuff we’ve had out of the White House, that would be a tragedy and I would fear for the republic. I would be ashamed of myself if I didn’t run,” Weld told CNN host Jake Tapper.

In his earlier statement announcing his challenge to Trump, Weld expressed himself in loftier terms.

“Ours is a nation built on courage, resilience, and independence. In these times of great political strife, when both major parties are entrenched in their ‘win at all cost’ battles, the voices of the American people are being ignored and our nation is suffering,” Weld said in his campaign launch statement.
“It is time for patriotic men and women across our great nation to stand and plant a flag. It is time to return to the principles of Lincoln — equality, dignity, and opportunity for all. There is no greater cause on earth than to preserve what truly makes America great. I am ready to lead that fight,” the political challenger declaimed.
Asked by CNN‘s Tapper whether he truly believed that he could beat Trump in a series of Republican primaries weighted heavily in Trump’s favor, Weld replied: “I do.”
“It’s one vote at a time and one voter at a time. What we have now is a president who mocks the rule of law. I spent seven years in the Justice Department trying to keep the politics out of law, he’s trying to put it in,” the former governor said.
“A president who says, ‘we don’t need a free press,’ who says, ‘climate change is a complete hoax.’ He’s not paying attention. I doubt very much he has [read] a study of any of those issues. He seems to have difficulty, in my opinion, and I was a prosecutor for quite a while, he has a difficulty conforming his conduct to the requirements of law. That’s a serious matter in the Oval Office,” Weld continued to the delight of the dwindling number of  “Never Trump” Republicans around the country.
While Weld’s candidacy will surely be regarded by Trump loyalists like he is emulating Don Quixote tilting at windmills at best — and as treasonous in the worst case scenario — if anything happens between now and the Republican convention next summer to cause Trump to drop out of the 2020 race, Weld’s early start may prove beneficial and give him an edge over any of the other candidates who would then jump into the fray.
You can watch a clip of William Weld speaking with Jake Tapper on CNN in the video below.

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Original reporting by Steve Brusk and Kate Sullivan at CNN and by Dominique Jackson at RawStory.

Vinnie Longobardo

is the Managing Editor of Washington Press and a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile, & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music, and art.