Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld said President Trump has tarnished the reputation of the GOP and warned that the national Republican Party is on the verge of becoming “universally viewed as the party of racism in America.”

Mr. Weld is challenging Mr. Trump in the 2020 GOP primary and urged the crowd at the NAACP convention in Detroit to recognize that his long shot bid could “weaken” the president’s re-election chances in 2020.

“The Republican Party has a choice and a lot of them like to think it is a political choice, but it is not a political choice,” Mr. Weld said. “It is a moral choice and unless the Republican Party in Washington expressly, expressly, rejects the racism of Donald Trump they are going to become universally viewed as the party of racism in America.”

Mr. Weld said he felt obligated to stand up against Mr. Trump, describing him as a “moral leper.” and as having “no clue.”

Mr. Weld said that in the five presidents that have drawn primary challengers in modern times have all lost.

“I am saying to people you can vote against Donald Trump twice,” he said, asking for their support in the GOP primary. “That vote is coming right of Donald Trump’s hide and it is going to weaken him.”

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