Joe Walsh, one of the few Republicans mounting a presidential challenge to President Trump, said he will not vote to re-elect the president if his bid for the GOP's 2020 nomination fails.
"Hell no," Walsh told Cheddar on Thursday. "I'm running because I think he is unfit and I think he is a danger to this country. I could never support that."
Walsh, a former Congressman from Illinois and conservative radio host, launched his campaign last month by trying to make the case that Trump is uniquely and morally unfit to lead the nation. His bid, however, is widely seen as quixotic given the strong support for Trump among Republican voters and the GOP establishment. Several polls put Trump's approval ratings among Republicans as high as 80 to 90 percent.
Yet Walsh, who was elected to Congress as a staunch Tea Party Republican and was an ardent supporter of Trump in 2016, said the president is "destroying in the Republican brand" with his rash behavior — and that support for him endures simply because there is no Republican alternative.
"This guy in the White House lies almost every time he opens his mouth. He's cruel, he's bigoted — he's just mean," Walsh said.
Critics note, however, that Walsh largely came to right-wing prominence peddling conspiracy theories and making bigoted comments himself. Most notably, his repeated false claims that former President Obama is Muslim and was not born in the U.S. On New Years Eve in 2016, for instance, Walsh tweeted "Obama is a Muslim. Happy New Year!"
Walsh has also routinely attacked organizations like Black Lives Matter, defended the use of homophobic slurs, and has been criticized for fanning the flames — and inciting violence — around cultural sensitivities.
In 2016, after several police officers were killed in Dallas, Texas by an African American gunman, Walsh tweeted "This is now war. Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks. Real America is coming after you." The tweet was quickly deleted but sparked shock and outrage. Months later, when Walsh supported then-candidate Trump, he tweeted that "if Trump loses, I'm grabbing my musket. You in?"
Walsh has since apologized for his lengthy list of bigoted and controversial remarks, including the racist comments about Obama. He also told MSNBC last month that "I wouldn't call myself a racist, but ... I've said racist things on Twitter. There's no doubt about it."
Walsh has also ceded that his language — especially his rhetoric on Twitter — mirrored that of Trump and his ilk; and sowed resentment into certain voting blocks that contributed to Trump's electoral victory. Yet the difference between Trump and himself, Walsh has said, is that he has apologized.
Walsh is joined by former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld and former South Carolina Congressman Mark Sanford in challenging Trump in the upcoming Republican primary. All three candidates argue that Trump is particularly unqualified to occupy the Oval Office.
"Every day and week that goes by, this president proves more and more that he is unfit and I think Republican voters will welcome a primary challenge," Walsh said.
Walsh and the other candidates, however, faces significant hurdles to beating Trump. Republican officials in several states this week — South Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, and Kansas — canceled their primaries altogether. Foregoing the elections, which proponents and Trump say will save the GOP money, will result in the state's delegates automatically going to Trump.
"We're going to fight it with everything we've got … This kind of thing cannot stand in America," Walsh said regarding the canceled primaries, which he said disenfranchises Republican voters.
Trump on Monday dismissed his challengers, saying "I don't even know who they are ... I guess it's a publicity stunt."
Many U.S. consumers say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for holiday gifts in recent months, according to a a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A contributing factor is the unusually high import taxes the Trump administration put on foreign goods. While the worst-case consumer impact that many economists foresaw from the administration’s trade policies hasn’t materialized, some popular gift items have been affected more than others. Most toys and electronics sold in the U.S. come from China. So do most holiday decorations. Jewelry prices have risen due to the cost of gold.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
