Bill Weld Will Challenge President Trump In 2020. What Are His Chances?
With David Folkenflik
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld is running for president. Has Trump’s team already put roadblocks in place to make any challenge impossible?
Guests
Bill Weld, 2020 Republican presidential candidate. Former governor of Massachusetts. Libertarian Party’s nominee for vice president in the 2016 election. (@GovBillWeld)
James Pindell, political reporter for the Boston Globe. Former political director for WMUR in Manchester, New Hampshire. Political analyst for WBUR. (@JamesPindell)
Matt Moore, former South Carolina Republican Party chairman. Partner at the political and grassroots strategy firm First Tuesday Strategies. (@MattMooreSC)
From The Reading List
Boston Globe: “Bill Weld says his primary challenge to Trump will be ‘ferocious’” — “As soon as former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld walked into his first New Hampshire diner as an official Republican presidential candidate Tuesday, he spread his arms and proclaimed, ‘I am back.’
“Two people clapped in a nearby booth. The rest of the crowd at the Red Arrow Diner appeared oblivious to the tall redhead in a leather jacket adorned with a Weld 2020 button.
“Weld, who served as Massachusetts governor from 1991 to 1997, announced Monday that he would become the first — and possibly only — challenger to President Trump in the GOP primary.”
“His campaign marks the first time since 1992 that a sitting president has faced a primary challenge, but it also tacks on another chapter in Weld’s often-meandering political career. After failed bids for an ambassadorship to Mexico and governor of New York, Weld endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 and had a spot on the national Libertarian Party’s ticket in the last presidential election.”
Associated Press: “Trump campaign takes steps to prevent a challenge within GOP” — “Worried about a potential Republican primary challenge, President Donald Trump’s campaign has launched a state-by-state effort to prevent an intraparty fight that could spill over into the general-election campaign.
“The nascent initiative has been an intense focus in recent weeks and includes taking steps to change state party rules, crowd out potential rivals and quell any early signs of opposition that could embarrass the president.
“It is an acknowledgment that Trump, who effectively hijacked the Republican Party in 2016, hasn’t completely cemented his grip on the GOP and, in any event, is not likely to coast to the 2020 GOP nomination without some form of opposition. While any primary challenge would almost certainly be unsuccessful, Trump aides are looking to prevent a repeat of the convention discord that highlighted the electoral weaknesses of Presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter in their failed re-election campaigns.”
Politico: “Delaney calls for a Republican to challenge Trump in 2020” — “Democratic presidential candidate John Delaney on Thursday said a Republican, such as former Ohio Gov. John Kasich or Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, should challenge President Donald Trump in 2020.
“‘Unless Republicans believe that Donald Trump is a fair and accurate representation of the Republican party as a whole, they should put up a challenger to run against him in the primary election,’ Delaney said in a statement, adding that few Republicans ‘have shown the courage to stand up to Trump.’
“‘We can’t go very far as a country if only one political party is committed to decency, honesty, and character,’ he continued.
“The former Maryland congressman then called on Kasich or Hogan, who are both weighing a run, to challenge Trump.”
Anna Bauman produced this hour for broadcast.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2019 NPR]
