Declaring that “America deserves better leadership”, author Brad Thor threw his hat in the ring for the 2020 GOP primary. Well, maybe, but probably not.  Thor said he would challenge President Trump’s bid for re-election if no other conservative stepped forward to do so.

“The pages of history do not care if you were a farmer, a soldier, a doctor, or a butcher,” Thor told TheDCNF. “They care whether or not, when called, if you rose up to serve. Our Republic cries out for leadership, someone who will respect our Constitutional norms and represent the world’s greatest minority – the individual. That is who I am running for.”

It all started innocently enough, given that the vehicle used for Thor’s announcement was Twitter. A producer for MSNBC tweeted a bit of snark over Trump’s alleged calling Attorney General Jeff Sessions “Mr. Magoo” and Thor responded.

https://twitter.com/BradThor/status/987799013083766784

The conversation continued from there.  Clearly, Thor was ready to vent. Twitter is the perfect place for that. The man has 102,000 followers so he has a big audience. After tweeting that Trump is mentally unstable, he went on to affirm his hope that Trump will be successful despite his flaws.

https://twitter.com/BradThor/status/987811748035072005

Also, Trump’s a dumbass.

https://twitter.com/BradThor/status/987816706990071809

https://twitter.com/BradThor/status/987817421192024064

Thor challenged Trump to a debate, after officially declaring his candidacy.

https://twitter.com/BradThor/status/987823993657942016

Never Trumpers rejoiced. Positive reactions to Thor’s challenge were immediately forthcoming.  I wonder how many of them, though, realize that this is a repeat of the lead-up to the 2016 election?  This isn’t the first time he’s offered himself up to run. He did it in 2016 by offering to be a third-party candidate so that he could debate Trump and Hillary on stage.  I do like the dramatic Twitter pic with his tweet here, though.

https://twitter.com/BradThor/status/987841006056951810

In the meantime, CNN is working on its own fever dream. They’ve come up with three potential challengers for Trump in 2020.  The network apparently hasn’t learned the lessons of 2016, but it’s to their benefit not to – it’s all about ratings, baby. Remember that CNN was one of the networks that gave Trump endless free time during the primary season for ratings. So, they think now that John Kasich, Jeff Flake, and Mitt Romney are all reasonable 2020 challengers.  Really? Those three are the best CNN can offer? Hey, what about Evan McMullin? Lol!

Kasich still sees a president looking back at him in his mirror. He’s courting big GOP donors in hopes of justifying another run for president. Jeff Flake has been visiting New Hampshire and not ruling out a run.  And Mitt Romney? Well, he’s busy trying to run for the Senate. Of the three I can only really see Kasich going for it.

Brad Thor is a Never Trump constitutional conservative. He has been consistent in his discontent with the behavior of President Trump in office. He’s not alone and it’s not just Never Trumpers that have that feeling. Lots of Trump voters are also uncomfortable with the man’s personal behavior in office at times (ahem).  Sometimes I’ve pondered if Trump understands his statements come across in conflict with basic tenets of the Constitution – like when Trump casually tossed aside due process in a conversation with gun law reformers at the White House.

Will Brad Thor mount a presidential campaign? No, I don’t think so. I think this was a way to vent his frustrations with President Trump and he challenged Trump to a debate. Thor is a writer and his genre is spy thrillers and action stories. He is one who focuses on detail and the process of problem-solving. He has 17 published books and is a New York Times bestselling author. Offering himself up as an alternative to Trump in 2020 is a natural extension of problem-solving – he’ll do it if no one else will. I think, almost assuredly, that someone else will step forward. I don’t think Thor is forming an exploratory committee or heading to New Hampshire to take the temperature of voters there. In the meantime, a good Twitter rant can be good for the soul.