This Man May Try to Take the GOP Nomination From Trump

Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld is exploring a run for president
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 15, 2019 10:54 AM CST
This Man May Try to Take the GOP Nomination From Trump
In this Nov. 8, 2016, file photo, Libertarian vice presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld arrives to cast his vote at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Canton, Mass.   (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Donald Trump's path to the Republican nomination in 2020 may not be an automatic one. Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld announced on Friday that he has formed a presidential committee to explore running against Trump as a Republican. The 73-year-old Harvard and Harvard Law grad and former federal prosecutor made the announcement in Bedford, New Hampshire, and didn't mince words. What he said, and what you need to know about the potential candidate:

  • "I'm here because I think our country is in grave peril, and I cannot sit quietly on the sidelines any longer," he said, per WMUR. Trump "has virtually spat on the idea that we should have freedom of the press. He has failed to call out and denounce appalling instances of racism."
  • "In every country, there comes a time when patriotic men and women must stand up and speak out. In our country, this is such a time."
  • The Washington Post adds that Weld described Trump as behaving "like a schoolyard bully. ... We don’t need six more years of the antics we have seen."
  • And there's this line from the Boston Herald: "To compound matters, our president is simply too unstable to carry out the duties of the highest executive office—which include the specific duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed—in a competent and professional matter."

  • As for what will determine whether Weld runs, the Post reports he'll evaluate over the next several months whether he can raise the money needed to mount a challenge.
  • As for his positions, the Herald says he declared "the two most important tasks are to cut spending and to cut taxes—and spending comes first." He also wants to see the government get more involved in climate change efforts (in part by rejoining the Paris accord) and less involved in health care. The Boston Globe adds that he is critical of Trump's tariffs and called for a guest worker program to help western agricultural states.
  • The Post tracks his political history: He was elected Massachusetts governor as a Republican in 1990 and 1994 (securing more than 70% of the vote in the blue state the second time around). He ran against John Kerry for US Senate in 1996 and lost. In 1997 he gave up the governorship to be President Clinton's ambassador to Mexico, but his nomination faltered over GOP concerns about his moderate views (in his bid for the governorship, he supported gay and abortion rights). He bowed out of a subsequent run for NY governor, and exited the GOP in 2016 to run as the VP on Gary Johnson's Libertarian Party ticket. Weld in 2019 switched his registration back to the Republican Party.
  • Axios' assessment: "Weld runs for a lot of elections."
  • CNN reports Weld's bid would be a true long shot, at least if past history is any indication. Trump's approval among Republicans is 89%; previous bids have shown presidents generally only have a tough time with a primary challenge if that figure is 75% or below.
  • Even if he can't win, he could do damage to Trump, or so hope his supporters. The Globe notes Pat Buchanan secured 37% of the vote against President George HW Bush in the 1992 New Hampshire primary; as the Post puts it, a "weakened" Bush ultimately lost to Bill Clinton. The Post similarly notes that President Gerald Ford was challenged by Ronald Reagan in 1976, then lost to Jimmy Carter.
(More Bill Weld stories.)

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