GOP primary challenger: Trump is a ‘one-man crime wave’

President Trump’s first GOP primary challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, is calling the president a “one-man crime wave” a day after the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russia’s election meddling.

Mueller’s redacted report, which was released Thursday, found no conspiracy between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Moscow, but listed several “episodes” of possible obstruction of justice, including Trump ordering subordinates to shutdown or stymie the special counsel’s office.

{mosads}“This man is a one-man crime wave,” Weld said in an interview with MSNBC that aired Friday. “He instructed senior legal officials, senior national security, senior intelligence officials to lie, he actively sought out and suborned perjury. That is obstruction of justice.”

Weld described the president’s behavior as “criminal conduct and impeachable conduct,” but later clarified that he was not calling for the House to impeach Trump.

Weld on Monday launched a primary challenge to Trump. When making the announcement, he similarly called the president a “one-man crime wave” according to WMUR 9. 

Weld, who was the libertarian party’s vice presidential candidate in 2016, is the first Republican to challenge Trump for the party’s 2020 nomination. Other possible GOP challengers who have been floated include Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich. 

Any Republican looking to steal the party’s nod from Trump faces an uphill battle, with polls consistently showing strong support for the president among the GOP base.