Republican Challengers Debate

Former-Representative Joe Walsh addresses a crowd. (Flickr)

Two Republican presidential candidates, former-Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld and former-Representative Joe Walsh, participated in an ad hoc live debate, hosted by Business Insider on September 24. Republican presidential primary challengers have expressed one thing in common with Democrats: stern calls for President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

Unsanctioned by the official Republican National Committee (RNC), Business Insider extended invitations to all primary candidates for 2020. Weld and Walsh are two of the three primary challengers to incumbent Trump, along with former-Governor Mark Sanford, who was unable to attend. 

Trump has said that he will not entertain primary challengers and declined the invitation to debate on September 24, according to the Hill. He stated that he is not “looking to give them any credibility” and applauded Arizona, Kansas, South Carolina, and Alaska’s decisions to cancel their Republican primaries in an effort to save money. 

Weld and Walsh railed against Trump and decried his brand of Republican populism, though Trump was not present. The debate was very loosely related to policy, Vox reports, as Walsh said, “It’s not about issues. It’s about Trump,” while showing respect for his primary opponent Weld. 

Walsh and Weld are members of the dwindling minority of Republicans willing to challenge Trump. The current administration represents a marked departure from the staunch anti-spending dogma of previous Republican presidents, instead focusing on immigration and trade policy. These primary challengers hope that they can build support around a return to normalcy for the Republican Party. 

The base that Walsh and Weld are courting may be nonexistent. Despite an overall approval rating of just 43 percent, Trump enjoys an approval rating of 91 percent among Republicans.