Former Gov. Bill Weld (R-MA) announced moments ago on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper that he was running for president in 2020, challenging President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.

Weld told Tapper that he viewed it as a “political tragedy” if Trump were to be re-elected, and that he “would fear for the republic” if Trump won a second term.

In 2016, Weld was the vice presidential nominee on the Libertarian ticket with former Gov. Gary Johnson (R-NM). Since then, he has maintained his opposition to Trump and had been publicly contemplating entering the 2020 race.

This time around, Weld said he would rule out an independent or third party bid, telling Tapper that if he could not defeat Trump in the Republican presidential primary that he would weigh his options for who to support, but would not launch an independent campaign himself. Weld added that he would not under any circumstances support Trump’s re-election but did not see himself voting for a Democrat either.

"Jake, I'm announcing that I'm running for President… as a Republican against the President in 2020."

Former Gov. Bill Weld officially announces he is challenging President Trump for the GOP nomination. https://t.co/Q5z30Qjw8o pic.twitter.com/QBSwtdxPUx

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) April 15, 2019

UPDATE: Weld posted a new logo and website on his Twitter account, and posted a short announcement video:

I'm in! #Weld2020 https://t.co/XARRN08rUb

— Gov. Bill Weld (@GovBillWeld) April 15, 2019

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