Former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh, once a Trump supporter, to challenge him in Republican primary
"Today I'm declaring my candidacy for president of
"We have someone in the
Walsh, a locally based host of a syndicated radio talk show, has been telegraphing his longshot bid against Trump for weeks.
He has made regular cable news appearances as well as a visit to "This Week With
"I wrote that New York Times piece to get someone in our party to step up," he told the Tribune Sunday morning. "In the last week it became clear that no other
Walsh, who publicly supported Trump in 2016, rode the wave of the
For the 57-year-old Walsh, his candidacy for president becomes the latest act in a public life that is in many ways befitting for a former student at the
His provocative rhetoric has given him an outsized national platform on cable news outlets despite his cup-of-coffee tenure in the House -- once as a fierce critic of former President
But a review of Walsh's career -- his three losing bids for elective office against one win as well as a failed attempt to become
Few
"He served in
"It will be the height of irony to see 'Never Trumpers', who have talked incessantly about the importance of character, support
But
"Yes, the challengers to
It was only days before the 2016 presidential election, when Walsh displayed his enthusiasm for Trump, saying in a tweet: "On
But on Friday, in preparation for his announcement, Walsh tweeted: "Trump is not well. Trump is not stable. Trump is not fit. Trump is a danger to the country and he's becoming a big danger to your pocketbook."
Yet the similarities between Walsh and Trump are many.
At first a moderate, Walsh supported abortion rights, a ban on assault weapons and gun buyer background checks in his 1996 and 1998 bids for
Trump also previously supported abortion rights, once declaring, "I am very pro-choice." In his 2000 book, "The America We Deserve," Trump supported a ban on assault weapons before declaring to the
During Trump's presidential campaign, he gained notoriety for saying the late
In his failed 2012 re-election bid, Walsh said his Democratic opponent, now-
Walsh contended at the time that McCain was a hero because he did not speak often about his past military service. But Walsh also had harsh words for the senator, who died in August of last year, saying to a tea party group in 2012 that he understood those who didn't vote for McCain for president against Obama because, "McCain was what, about 132 years old?"
While in
Trump has come under criticism for repeatedly using racist language, such as when he recently said four new Democratic members of
In
A year earlier, on the 50th anniversary of the Rev.
During a
"He was black, he was historic ... They were in love with him because they thought he was a good liberal guy and they were in love with him because he pushed that magical button: a black man who was articulate, liberal, the whole white guilt, all of that," he said.
And in
He later deleted that tweet but in
During his 1996 campaign for
Trump in 2012 criticized losing
But in his campaign and in his presidency, Trump has taken a hardline approach to illegal immigration and has worked to reduce legal immigration.
Aside from the Trump comparisons, Walsh has had several financial problems over the years, including now resolved liens and a condo foreclosure as well as a controversy over child support.
Shortly after his election to
For Walsh, it has been a constant evolution of political roles.
In his failed challenge to Rep.
By 2010 he was courting the right wing, and in 2012 he said of his desire of a Republican to defeat Obama: "We don't need a savior. I don't want a savior. A lot of this country thought they elected a savior three years ago."
On Friday, readying his challenge to take on Trump, Walsh offered this tweet: "I'd rather be the man who apologizes for the mistakes he's made than the man who's incapable of apologizing for the mistakes he's made."
Twitter @rap30
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