Bill Weld calls on Trump to resign, calling him a ‘one-man crime wave’

Bill Weld. Charles Krupa/Associated Press/Associated Press

GOP presidential candidate Bill Weld is calling on President Trump to resign from office in the wake of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference and obstruction of justice, calling him “a one-man crime wave.”

Writing in the conservative website The Bulwark, Weld, the former Massachusetts governor, argues that the Mueller report exposed a serious credibility problem for Trump.

“How can a president function if he instinctively lies to not only the public but to his own staff? There is one essential truth that leaps from the pages of the Mueller report: No one can trust Donald Trump,” he writes.

Weld covers many of the Mueller report’s findings to bolster his argument: There is evidence suggesting Trump at least attempted to obstruct justice, several of the president’s associates have been convicted of crimes, and the redacted referrals to other prosecutors suggest there’s more to be uncovered.

“Trump’s rampant dishonesty and paranoia render him incapable of serving as president. For once, he should put the good of the United States ahead of his own ego and resign,” Weld writes.

Weld, who recently rejoined the Republican Party after a stint as a Libertarian during the 2016 campaign, writes that the country would be better off under a President Mike Pence. Amid a debate in the Democratic Party over whether to begin impeachment proceedings, Weld argues the House of Representatives should decide on that question and also urges Trump to resign on his own accord.

“There is no reason to believe a word he says about anything, and the American people deserve better,” Weld writes.

Weld is making the demand that Trump resign as he mounts a primary challenge to the president for the Republican nomination. He’s the first notable primary challenger to an incumbent president since Pat Buchanan challenged George H.W. Bush in 1992.