Trump critics are scrambling to find a credible primary challenger to the president, The Washington Post reports.
Former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh is “preparing” a primary challenge to Trump after he penned a scathing op-ed in the New York Times lambasting Trump as “unfit” for office. Walsh will likely be joined by former South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford, a Trump critic who has voiced concerns about the president’s reckless spending.
Former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake has also gotten a “flurry of recruitment calls” from Republican donors worried about the economy, The Post reported. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich is also heading to New Hampshire next month to “take a look at things” after he got an “increase” in overtures to run during the summer.
Trump already has one primary challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who ran as Gary Johnson’s running mate on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016, but he has failed to gain any traction.
Republicans worried over economy, spending:
“Republicans considering bids, as well as those trying to draft other candidates, acknowledge that defeating Trump appears to be nearly impossible but argue that a recession or an unforeseen change in the political climate could weaken him enough to make a primary challenge more than a Never Trump fantasy,” The Post reported.
Of course, even Sanford does not believe he can beat Trump.
“Anybody who says, ‘I think I can beat Donald Trump,’ I think is stretching it,” Sanford told The Post. “It’s a daunting task and it is indeed preposterous at many different levels.”
But after traveling to New Hampshire, Sanford said he believes he “could win without winning.”
“If [Trump] gives you a nickname and has surrogates rough you up, you could get a message out and create a national conversation on what it means to be a Republican these days and that could probably be worth the endeavor,” Sanford said.
“We really are at a financial tipping point the likes of which we haven’t seen in a very long time,” he added. “Unless we constructively engage this issue, which is not being done, I think the financial markets will do it for us, and historically that process has been bloody for regular, working, everyday Americans.”
Anthony Scaramucci funding PAC to defeat Trump:
Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director, announced that he is launching the “Committee to Dismantle Trump” after he and his former boss turned on each other.
“I’m going to throw my own dough in there, ask others to put their dough in there, and we’re going to explain to people what he’s doing,” Scaramucci said in a podcast interview. “I can grab a hold of 5, 6, 8 percent of the people that know he’s nuts and possibly move them.”
