Joe Walsh’s Transformation From Fringe Tea Partier To Anti-Trump Conservative Is Complete

U.S. Representative Joe Walsh of Illinois' 8th district speaks at the CPAC Chicago's Conservative Political Action Conference at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont , Il. on Friday, June 8, 2012..(AP Photo/Da... U.S. Representative Joe Walsh of Illinois' 8th district speaks at the CPAC Chicago's Conservative Political Action Conference at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont , Il. on Friday, June 8, 2012..(AP Photo/Daily Herald, Mark Welsh) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT MORE LESS
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Former congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL) is preparing a primary challenge to President Donald Trump.

According to the Washington Post, Walsh said he expects to announce his bid next month. An immigration hawk, he intends to run to Trump’s right and wield a moral message.

“He’s a bully and he’s a coward,” Walsh said. “Somebody’s got to punch him in the face every single day.”

Walsh, who was swept into Congress on the Tea Party wave of 2010, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times a few days ago, hinting at the need for a primary challenger and alluding to his own controversial history.

“In Mr. Trump, I see the worst and ugliest iteration of views I expressed for the better part of a decade,” he wrote. “To be sure, I’ve had my share of controversy. On more than one occasion, I questioned Mr. Obama’s truthfulness about his religion. At times, I expressed hate for my political opponents. We now see where this can lead. There’s no place in our politics for personal attacks like that, and I regret making them.”

Walsh, a mainstay on cable news during his one term in office, was a constant critic of President Barack Obama and inclined to make offensive comments, including that young male Muslim immigrants should be “profiled” and that “advances in science” have rendered abortion exceptions unnecessary.

He has since become an ardent Never Trumper, tracing his disenchantment to the Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018.

Others considering a primary challenge to Trump include former congressman Mark Sanford (R-SC) and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, both of whom say they’ve been courted more intensely lately, as economic forecasts foretell a coming recession.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld is the only Republican to formally announce his bid so far.

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Notable Replies

  1. When I first saw this, I was sure it had been cross-posted from the Onion.

    Given no other alternatives, I’d rather vote for Trump than Walsh.

    Even if he’s running to the right of Trump, he still doesn’t stand a chance. This is a guy who got his ass kicked (twice) by a woman with no legs.

  2. reminder

  3. “He’s a bully and he’s a coward,” Walsh said. “Somebody’s got to punch him in the face every single day.”

    That sounds like the premise for a show I would absolutely watch.

    In a world…where a feckless former congressman’s fists fly into the failed furher’s flabby face…next on Fox.

  4. Tammy Duckworth doesn’t need legs to be an outstanding human being. The fact that she lost her legs flying choppers in combat and then came back home to kick ass in politics only enhances her stature. There should be more women like her. It’s time to put a woman in the WH. I hope Warren finally does it.

  5. He’s running to Trump’s right?

    So this is how he’s going to look at his campaign kick off:
    image

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