AP Photo/Juan Labreche
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld
- Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld announced his plans to launch an exploratory to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 GOP presidential primary.
- Weld served as Massachusetts' governor from 1991 to 1997. More recently, he was on the 2016 Libertarian presidential ticket as Gary Johnson's running mate.
- He would be the second candidate from Massachusetts to jump into the race, joining Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld announced his plans to launch an exploratory challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican presidential primary, he would be the first candidate to give Trump a serious challenge from within his own party.
During a speech at the famous "Politics & Eggs" event in New Hampshire, Weld said he would be launching an exploratory committee because he "cannot sit quietly on the sidelines any longer."
"We have a president whose priorities are skewed toward promotion of himself rather than toward the good of the country," Weld said of Trump at the event.
"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," Weld added. "He is simply in the wrong place."
Weld ran on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016 as presidential candidate Gary Johnson's running mate, only recently changing his official party affiliation back to Republican.
After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1970 and working in private practice, Weld's career in public service started as a US Attorney for Massachusetts, prosecuting several high-profile public corruption and white collar criminal cases in the 1980s.
Weld was elected as Massachusetts' Governor in 1991, the first Republican to serve in the position since 1975. A moderate, business-friendly governor, Weld enjoyed high levels of popularity among voters and was re-elected in a landslide in 1994 - even carrying the Democratic stronghold of Boston.
After leaving the Governor's office, Weld launched an unsuccessful challenge to unseat Sen. John Kerry in 1996. Weld moved to New York in 2000, where he also ran for governor in 2006, but withdrew from the Republican primary.
Weld jumped back into
Now, Weld could take on Trump from the center of the Republican party. Other possible Republican primary challengers for Trump could include former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and current Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.
If he officially runs, Weld would be the second candidate from Massachusetts to jump into the race, joining Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Seth Moulton, a Democrat who represents Massachusetts' 6th congressional district, is also rumoured to be considering a presidential run.