Finally, a Republican challenger to Trump; hope for more

Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld wasn't the obvious choice to be first, but perhaps he'll start something.

February 19, 2019 at 6:36PM
FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2016, file photo, former Massachusetts Republican Gov. William Weld takes questions from members of the media on the campus of Emerson College in Boston. Weld, who ran for vice president as a Libertarian in 2016, confirmed Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, he has changed his party registration back to Republican as he mulls a possible primary challenge against President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
Former Massachusetts Republican Gov. William Weld in 2016. Weld, who ran that year as a vice presidential candidate on the Libertarian Party ticket, confirmed this month that he has changed his party registration back to Republican and that he will mount a primary challenge against President Donald Trump. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Finally, a Republican steps forward, repulsed by what the boorish incumbent president has done to sully the storied Party of Lincoln and Reagan, and announces a challenge for the 2020 GOP nomination for the presidency.

And that man is … William Weld?

The peripatetic onetime prosecutor and former governor of Massachusetts (and briefly candidate for New York chief exec) isn't who we thought might be the first Republican to dare tell the emperor that he has no clothes and remind the party that it once championed limited government, fiscal responsibility, the rule of law and character counting above all.

Given the shape of the GOP now, Weld has approximately as much of a chance as Lincoln himself of actually grabbing the nomination. But he could cause headaches in Massachusetts neighbor New Hampshire, home to the first primary.

At an event there Thursday, Weld didn't mince words, calling President Donald Trump a "schoolyard bully" (check), "unstable" (check) and "a president whose priorities are skewed to the promotion of himself rather than toward the good of the country" (check and double-check).

More important, Weld might inspire other Trump critics. What about it, former Ohio Gov. John Kasich? How about it, ex-Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker? What say you, current Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse?

The water's fine. Jump in.

about the writer

about the writer

Editorial, New York Daily News (TNS)

More from Commentaries

See More
card image
Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune

Instructors taught us that the facts on the left side of the equation — the person with a gun, the escaping felon in a car, the person running into a home or away from the agents — did not always equate to an authorized use.

card image
card image