Conservative firebrand Joe Walsh, a radio host and former Illinois congressman, said Thursday that he's considering mounting a challenge to President Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican primary.
In an interview on CNN Thursday morning, Walsh said he was "strongly, strongly considering" a run against Trump, who he called a "horrible human being" and a "bad, bad guy."
"These are not conventional times," he continued. "Look at the guy in the White House. These are urgent times. Somebody needs to make that case. I have yet to hear any potential Republican make that case."
Walsh went on to say that he believed a challenger could defeat Trump, but "only if they make the moral case."
"This guy's unfit, he lies every time he opens his mouth. If you're not gonna say that, then don't even challenge Trump," Walsh said, adding, "If Republicans... stay silent in the face of this guy, I don't think the country will every forgive the Republican Party, but forget about the Republican Party. If this guy gets four more years, we're in real, real trouble. It's worth doing anything you can do to try to stop that."
Walsh said he would make a decision on the race "in the next week or so."
Walsh was elected to represent Illinois' 8th Congressional District in the Tea Party wave of 2010 and served one term before he was defeated in the newly-drawn 8th District by now-Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
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Initially a Trump supporter, Walsh - who has a history of making controversial comments - tweeted in October 2016, "if Trump loses, I'm grabbing my musket." But he has since soured on Trump, repeatedly calling him "unfit to be president" and "dangerous," among other things.
This is not the first time Walsh has threatened to challenge a GOP incumbent. In October 2017, Walsh tweeted that he was "done" with then-Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner should Rauner sign legislation to prevent law enforcement from detaining individuals based solely on their immigration status.
After Rauner sign the so-called "sanctuary state" bill, Walsh floated the idea of running against him in the Republican primary or afterwards as an Independent - though he ultimately did neither.
Should he join the presidential race, Walsh will likely pose little threat to Trump, whose approval rating among Republicans stands at around 88 percent, according to an August Gallup poll, and who has a roughly $41 million political war chest.
