Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld announced Friday that he has launched a committee to look at a possible 2020 White House run and Republican primary challenge against President Donald Trump.

Weld, the Libertarian Party’s 2016 vice presidential candidate, revealed his 2020 exploratory committee during a “Politics & Eggs” breakfast in Bedford, N. H., according to various news outlets.

The former governor reportedly told attendees that he had “seen enough of government” to start in the Oval Office Monday, if needed, WBUR reported.

Weld added that it “feels good to be back there with the 'R' next to (his) name,” confirming that any official run will be as a Republican candidate, according to the news outlet.

Weld, a 73-year-old former U.S. Attorney and Capitol Hill staffer, was first elected Massachusetts governor in 1990 and reelected in 1994 as a Republican.

He later mounted unsuccessful campaigns against then-U.S. Sen. John Kerry, a Democrat, in 1996, and for governor of New York in 2006.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. </s> Bill Weld has set up an exploratory committee for a presidential run in 2020 and may become a Republican primary challenger against Trump. </s> (CNN) Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld announced Monday he is officially entering the race for president, becoming the first Republican to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 race.

"Ours is a nation built on courage, resilience, and independence. In these times of great political strife, when both major parties are entrenched in their 'win at all cost' battles, the voices of the American people are being ignored and our nation is suffering," Weld, who had previously formed an exploratory committee , said in a statement.

"It is time for patriotic men and women across our great nation to stand and plant a flag. It is time to return to the principles of Lincoln -- equality, dignity, and opportunity for all. There is no greater cause on earth than to preserve what truly makes America great. I am ready to lead that fight."

In 2016, Weld was the vice presidential nominee on the Libertarian Party ticket with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. He previously served two terms as the governor of Massachusetts in the early 1990s.

Weld ran for Senate in Massachusetts in 1996 and lost against John Kerry. He later moved to New York and in 2005 unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor.

Read More </s> • Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld announced his plans to launch an exploratory to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 GOP presidential primary.
• Weld served as Massachusetts’ governor from 1991 to 1997. More recently, he was on the 2016 Libertarian presidential ticket as Gary Johnson’s running mate.
• He would be the second candidate from Massachusetts to jump into the race, joining Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld announced his plans to launch an exploratory challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican presidential primary, he would be the first candidate to give Trump a serious challenge from within his own party.

During a speech at the famous “Politics & Eggs” event in New Hampshire, Weld said he would be launching an exploratory committee because he “cannot sit quietly on the sidelines any longer.”

“We have a president whose priorities are skewed toward promotion of himself rather than toward the good of the country,” Weld said of Trump at the event.

“To compound matters, our President is simply too unstable to carry out the duties of the highest executive office – which include the specific duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed – in a competent and professional matter,” Weld added. “He is simply in the wrong place.”

Read more: Former Republican senator Jeff Flake has decided he’s not going to challenge Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2020

Weld ran on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016 as presidential candidate Gary Johnson’s running mate, only recently changing his official party affiliation back to Republican.

After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1970 and working in private practice, Weld’s career in public service started as a US Attorney for Massachusetts, prosecuting several high-profile public corruption and white collar criminal cases in the 1980s.

Weld was elected as Massachusetts’ Governor in 1991, the first Republican to serve in the position since 1975. A moderate, business-friendly governor, Weld enjoyed high levels of popularity among voters and was re-elected in a landslide in 1994 – even carrying the Democratic stronghold of Boston.

After leaving the Governor’s office, Weld launched an unsuccessful challenge to unseat Sen. John Kerry in 1996. Weld moved to New York in 2000, where he also ran for governor in 2006, but withdrew from the Republican primary.

Weld jumped back into politics as the Libertarian vice presidential nominee in 2016. Johnson and Weld garnered 3.28% of the United States popular vote, the best showing for a third party or independent candidate since 1992.

Now, Weld could take on Trump from the center of the Republican party. Other possible Republican primary challengers for Trump could include former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and current Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.

If he officially runs, Weld would be the second candidate from Massachusetts to jump into the race, joining Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Seth Moulton, a Democrat who represents Massachusetts’ 6th congressional district, is also rumoured to be considering a presidential run. </s> WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld officially announced that he will challenge President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for president in 2020.



Announcing his presidential bid during an appearance on CNN, the 73-year old candidate said, 'I really think if we have six more years of the same stuff we've had out of the White House the last two years that would be a political tragedy.'



'It is time to return to the principles of Lincoln - equality, dignity, and opportunity for all', Weld said in a statement.



In his presidential announcement video, contrasting his style with Trump, Weld touted his experience of serving in the Justice Department under President Ronald Reagan.



He was the governor of Massachusetts for two terms, from 1991 to 1997. 



Weld is the first Republican to challenge Trump, who had announced well in advance that he is running for a second term in 2020.



Weld, who in 2016 ran for Vice President as Gary Johnson's running mate on the Libertarian Party ticket, has previously said he plans to garner support among independent and millennial voters during the Republican primary.



But he faces an uphill task to take over the GOP, as its leadership in January issued a resolution to declare the party's undivided support for Trump.



In an instant response to the news of Weld's candidacy, the Republican National Committee said, 'Any effort to challenge the president's nomination is bound to go absolutely nowhere.'



The billionaire President is well ahead of his potential Democratic opponents in raising money for the campaign, as he reportedly amassed $30 million in the first quarter of this year.



On the other side, the democratic list of presidential aspirants is expanding, which contains a record number of women and looks set to be the most diverse ever.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX </s> Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld became the first Republican to formally challenge President Donald Trump for the 2020 presidential nomination from the GOP. On Monday, Weld issued a statement announcing his candidacy for the White House.

"I'm announcing that I'm running for president of the United States as a Republican against President Trump in 2020. ... I really think if we have six more years of the same stuff we've had out of the White House the last two years, that would be a political tragedy, and I would fear for the republic. So, I would be ashamed of myself if I didn't raise my hand and run," Weld said on Monday's broadcast of CNN's "The Lead."

Weld also took to his Twitter account to announce the news and released a three-minute-long video highlighting his achievements during his two terms as governor of Massachusetts in the 1990s.

"Ours is a nation built on courage, resilience, and independence. In these times of great political strife, when both major parties are entrenched in their 'win at all cost' battles, the voices of the American people are being ignored and our nation is suffering," Weld, who has been a vocal Trump critic, said in a statement.

"It is time for patriotic men and women across our great nation to stand and plant a flag. It is time to return to the principles of Lincoln -- equality, dignity, and opportunity for all. There is no greater cause on earth than to preserve what truly makes America great. I am ready to lead that fight."

Weld was governor of Massachusetts from 1991-97 after serving in the Justice Department under President Ronald Reagan. He ran for Senate from Massachusetts in 1996 and lost against John Kerry. The Smithtown, New York-born is currently a partner at Mintz Levin law firm, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and associate member of the InterAction Council.

The announcement of Weld's 2020 bid comes after he said in February he had formed a presidential exploratory committee, a move that enabled him to raise money for a White House run.

"We have a president whose priorities are skewed towards promotion of himself rather than for the good of the country," Weld said at a recent gathering in New Hampshire, which holds an influential early nominating contest. "He may have great energy and considerable raw talent, but he does not use that in ways that promote democracy, truth, justice and equal opportunity for all. To compound matters, our president is simply too unstable to carry out the duties of the highest executive office in the land."

At the New Hampshire gathering, Weld described himself as a "Republican who works across the aisle and gets things done," and said he would have a "bipartisan Cabinet" if he won the presidency.

In the video he released Monday, Weld showcased clips of some of Trump's most controversial moments. These included Trump's infamous "Access Hollywood" video of him using lewd language to boast of his sexual groping and kissing of women without their consent, to the president's comments in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12, 2017.

The video finishes with the slogan: "A Better America Starts Here."

Despite criticism, Trump still holds 89 percent of Republican voters' approval as the president, according to the most recent Gallup poll. If Trump continues to retain his high popularity among Republicans, it may be very difficult for any challenger to defeat him in a contest for the GOP nomination.

A recent article on FiveThirtyEight, a website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, called Weld potentially "one of the weakest candidates that anti-Trump Republicans could put up in a national campaign."

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan have also been mentioned in recent months as potential party challengers to Trump.

This article originally appeared in IBTimes US. </s> Weld says he is seeking GOP nomination for president in 2020

Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld says he is seeking the Republican nomination against President Donald Trump in 2020.

Weld said Monday in announcing his candidacy that “it is time to return to the principles of Lincoln — equality, dignity and opportunity for all.” He said, in his words, “There is no greater cause on earth than to preserve what truly makes America great. I am ready to lead that fight.”

READ MORE: A Comey candidacy? Nope, just an April Fool’s Day joke

Weld was the 2016 Libertarian vice-presidential nominee. He served two terms as Massachusetts governor in the 1990s.

Weld’s move makes Trump the first incumbent president since George H.W. Bush in 1992 to face a notable primary challenge.

The Republican National Committee in January issued a nonbinding resolution to declare the party’s undivided support for Trump.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> A former governor of Massachusetts has become the first Republican to challenge Donald Trump, the US president, for the party's nomination in 2020.

Bill Weld, 73, announced his candidacy on Monday night and has accused Mr Trump of leaving the country in "grave peril", saying his "priorities are skewed toward promotion of himself rather than for the good of the country".

Mr Weld, who is one of Massachusetts's most successful governors, ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016.

He is the first Republican to challenge Mr Trump in the 2020 race, saying "it is time to return to the principles of Lincoln - equality, dignity and opportunity for all".

"There is no greater cause on earth than to preserve what truly makes America great. I am ready to lead that fight," he said.

The move by Mr Weld makes Mr Trump the first incumbent president since George HW Bush in 1992 to face a notable primary challenge. </s> On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld (R) announced he is running for president in 2020 as a Republican.

Weld said, “I’m announcing that I’m running for president of the United States as a Republican against President Trump in 2020. … I really think if we have six more years of the same stuff we’ve had out of the White House the last two years, that would be a political tragedy, and I would fear for the republic. So, I would be ashamed of myself if I didn’t raise my hand and run.”

Weld later stated that he doesn’t think he would run as an independent if he doesn’t win the Republican nomination. He added, “I could not support Donald Trump for president. I’m not saying I would ever endorse a Democrat in this race, but I could not support the president.”
Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld announces the launching of a presidential exploratory committee to run for President of the United States in the 2020 United States presidential election.