Former Massachusetts Governor and 2016 Libertarian Party Vice President nominee Bill Weld has announced an exploratory committee for a potential 2020 GOP primary challenge to President Trump.
Weld made his announcement in Bedford, New Hampshire at an event titled “Politics & Eggs” which was hosted by the New England Council.
Here are Weld’s comments from the event, according to The Hill:
“[O]ur 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,” Weld said at the annual Politics & Eggs breakfast. “He is simply in the wrong place.”
“It upsets me that our energies as a society are being sapped by the president’s culture of divisiveness,” Weld added.
“Because of the many concerns I’ve talked about today, I’ve established an exploratory committee to explore the possibility of running as a Republican in the 2020 presidential election.”
Weld will face an uphill battle if he does officially join the race.
In a recent poll of New Hampshire registered voters conducted by St. Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics voters were asked if there was a particular candidate they would support in a primary challenge against Trump 26% of voters said yes. Of those voters, not a single respondent mentioned Weld’s name.
In the 2016 General Election the Gary Johnson/Bill Weld Libertarian ticket received 3.28% of the national popular vote.
Bill Weld, 73, last served in an elected position in the 90’s as Massachusett’s governor. In 1996, he challenged Senator John Kerry and lost 53%-46%.
Towards the end of his term as Governor he was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the Ambassador to Mexico. This caused Weld to resign as his position of Governor. After six weeks of a rocky nomination process Weld eventually withdrew his nomination.
Weld later was a partner at an international law firm and a private equity firm.
In 2006, Weld ran for Governor in New York but eventually withdrew from the race after failing to receive the GOP endorsement at the Republican State Convention.
