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Weld, 73, who has little name recognition and will have to raise
vast sums of money for his campaign, is making a long-shot bid
to deny Trump the Republican nomination. Opinion polls have
consistently found Republican voters overwhelmingly support
Trump's re-election.
Weld's announcement marks the first time a member of Trump's
party has jumped in to officially challenge the president, who
is seeking re-election after sweeping the Republican competition
in 2016 to win the White House.
Other Republicans have publicly flirted with challenging Trump.
They include former Ohio Governor John Kasich, who also ran for
the party's presidential nomination in 2016, and former Senator
Jeff Flake of Arizona, a frequent Trump critic recently said he
would not run. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has also been
mentioned as a potential challenger to the president.
Weld, who ran for president in 2016 as a Libertarian, has been a
consistent critic of Trump.
"It is time for all people of good will to take a stand and
plant a flag," Weld said in a statement. "It's for this reason
that I have today established an exploratory committee to pursue
the possibility for my running for the presidency of the United
States as a Republican in the 2020 election."
Weld made remarks on Friday in Bedford, New Hampshire. The state
holds one of the earliest presidential nominating contests,
making it a popular destination for candidates and potential
aspirants.
The former governor criticized Trump for serving himself rather
than the nation, for being too unstable to carry out his
presidential duties, and for generating chaos.
"I think our country is in grave peril, and I cannot side any
longer quietly on the sidelines," he said in his remarks,
according to the Boston Globe.
"We have a president whose priorities are skewed toward
promotion of himself rather than toward the good of the
country," Weld said, according to the Boston Herald.
"The situation is not yet hopeless but we do need a mid-course
correction," he added, the Herald said.
Weld ran on the Libertarian Party's presidential ticket in 2016
before returning to the Republican Party this year.
He is a former prosecutor who led the New England state from
1991 to 1997, the Herald said.
(Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and
Jonathan Oatis)
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