President Donald Trump now has another challenger for the Republican nomination for president. Former Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois announced during an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week on Sunday morning that he would challenge Trump. He joins former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld in a three-way primary.
He said he was shocked by the lack of Republicans willing to challenge Trump.
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“Somebody needs to step up and there needs to be an alternative. The country is sick of this guy’s tantrum, he’s a child,” Walsh said.
He told Stephanopolous that most Republicans in Congress agree with him in his belief that the President is “unfit,” but they are afraid to say so.
“Our slogan is ‘be brave.’ This is not a difficult thing for me to do, I’m opening up my life. And the bet my campaign is making, and I’m going to pound Trump every single day, he’s a bully, and he’s a coward, and somebody has to call him out. I can’t believe nobody in our party has called him out. And the bet, George, of my campaign, is that there are a lot of Republicans who feel like I do. They’re afraid to come forward.”
Walsh served one term in Congress from 2011 to 2013 representing Illinois’ 8th Congressional District. In 2012, he was defeated by Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth by ten points after the district was redrawn in 2011 to favor a Democratic candidate.
Since leaving office he has hosted a nationally syndicated radio show and, as a conservative commentator, has frequently criticized the President.
Walsh also admitted that he “helped create Trump” by some of the rhetoric he employed against President Obama that he now says he regrets.
The Republican field may soon expand to four as former Republican Congressman and Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford, is visiting Iowa this week.
He needs to learn some basic geography confusing Iowa as the “Buckeye State” in a tweet on Thursday that has since been deleted.
“Will be going to Iowa next week and would love your wisdom on local perspectives if you are from the Buckeye state!” he said.
Iowa is, of course, the Hawkeye State.
Any Republican challenger to Trump faces an uphill battle as Republican approval of Trump remains high with polls showing 84 percent and 87 percent of Republicans approve of his job performance.
