Tea Party Ex-Rep. Joe Walsh Expected To Mount Primary Challenge Against Trump

Joe Walsh , a former Republican member of Congress and tea party figure turned controversial talk show host , is expected to announce his candidacy for president in the coming days, according to reports by Politico and The New York Times .

If Walsh does throw his hat in the ring, hell be the second Republican to mount a primary challenge against President Donald Trump . Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld announced in April that hed be running for president .

Both Politico and the Times reported that Walsh, who served as the Republican representative for Illnois 8th Congressional District from 2011 to 2013, will likely announce his presidential bid this weekend.

Walsh, 57, neither confirmed nor denied the impending announcement, but told Politico that if he was going to do it, its going to happen soon.

Ive been really surprised by the amount of anxiousness from people across the spectrum who want this president to have a challenge, because theres just a real concern that hes absolutely unfit, Walsh said, adding that hed abso-freaking-lutely be able to secure the financial support needed for the campaign.

Joe Walsh, the flame-throwing conservative radio show host and former Illinois congressman, is moving toward challenging Trump in a Republican primaryhttps://t.co/A0sntxxeDr

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Joe Walsh, the flame-throwing conservative radio show host and former Illinois congressman, is moving toward challenging Trump in a Republican primaryhttps://t.co/A0sntxxeDr
POLITICO (@politico) August 22, 2019

Walsh, who voted for Trump in 2016, wrote in a Times op-ed earlier this month that hed become convinced in the months and years following the election that the president was not a good leader, but a racial arsonist who encourages bigotry and xenophobia.

I wanted to apologize for the role I played in helping to put an unfit con man in the White House, Walsh tweeted following the op-eds publication.

Why did I write this piece? Two reasons: First, I wanted to make clear that Donald Trump is unfit to be President, and he MUST be challenged in the Republican primary.

And second, I wanted to apologize for the role I played in helping to put an unfit con man in the White House. https://t.co/BzXJD4AfOf

Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) August 14, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Joe Walsh","author_url":"https://twitter.com/WalshFreedom","cache_age":86400,"description":"Why did I write this piece? 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Why did I write this piece? Two reasons: First, I wanted to make clear that Donald Trump is unfit to be President, and he MUST be challenged in the Republican primary.

And second, I wanted to apologize for the role I played in helping to put an unfit con man in the White House. https://t.co/BzXJD4AfOf
Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) August 14, 2019

Like Trump, Walsh has also been accused of bigotry and xenophobia. In 2016, he claimed former President Barack Obama hates Israel because hes a Muslim. Obama is a Protestant Christian.

In 2017, Walsh said Obamas inexperience as a presidential candidate was given a pass by his supporters simply because hes black. Later that year, he accused musician Stevie Wonder of being another ungrateful black multi millionaire after he took a knee on stage to protest police brutality.

He also attacked the parents of children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, vowed to grab his musket if Trump lost the 2016 election, and threatened war on Obama and Black Lives Matter punks after the 2016 ambush of police officers in Dallas.

If Walsh does become a presidential contender, hed face an uphill battle against Trump, who boasts ample resources and whose approval rating with Republican voters has remained consistently high.

When asked by the Times to react to Walshs potential primary challenge, Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for Trumps reelection campaign, responded with just two words: Certain failure.

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Asked on Thursday whether its worth running even if he cant win, Walsh said yes.

This is a scary time, he told CNN s New Day. And if Republicans ... stay silent in the face of this guy, I dont think the country will ever forgive the Republican Party . But forget about the Republican Party, if this guy gets four more years, were in real, real trouble. Its worth doing anything you can do to try to stop that.

JUST NOW: @WalshFreedom inches closer to challenging @realDonaldTrump.

\"If Republicans stay silent in the face of this guy, I don't think the country will ever forgive the Republican party.\"@NewDay pic.twitter.com/o4Jm1Jug5D

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JUST NOW: @WalshFreedom inches closer to challenging @realDonaldTrump .

"If Republicans stay silent in the face of this guy, I don't think the country will ever forgive the Republican party."@NewDay pic.twitter.com/o4Jm1Jug5D
John Berman (@JohnBerman) August 22, 2019

This article has been updated to include Walshs comments on CNN.