Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh says he plans to use his two years of experience in Congress to show Republican voters that there's an alternative to President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
The Republican from Illinois announced his candidacy for the party nomination Sunday during an appearance on ABC's This Week.
"I'm running because he's unfit; somebody needs to step up and there needs to be an alternative. The country is sick of this guy's tantrum -- he's a child," Walsh said of Trump.
Walsh is the second Republican to challenge Trump. Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld announced his campaign in April.
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Background
Walsh, who earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Iowa and a master's degree in public policy from the University of Chicago, began his career as a social worker and later as a fundraiser for education reform groups. He segued into politics with a role with a libertarian think tank, the Heartland Institute.
Walsh first ran for public office in 1996, losing to incumbent Rep. Sidney Yates, a Democrat, in a run for the U.S. House in Illinois' 9th District. He also lost to incumbent state Rep. Jeffrey Schoenberg, a Democrat, in a 1998 run for the Illinois House of Representatives.
He won his first campaign in 2010, to represent Illinois' 8th District in the U.S. House, defeating incumbent Democrat Rep. Melissa Bean.
In Congress, Walsh served on the Homeland Security, Oversight and Government Reform and Small Business committees. During his time in office, he co-sponsored one bill that was passed, the No-Hassle Flying Act of 2012, which allows the assistant secretary of homeland security to change screening requirements for checked baggage arriving from pre-clearance airports.
He held onto the seat for one term before a redrawing of Illinois' congressional map made the district more liberal.
Tammy Duckworth, who now serves in the Senate, defeated Walsh in 2012. He faced criticism during that campaign for implying that Duckworth -- who lost both her legs during combat in Iraq -- was not a hero because "true heroes" wouldn't talk about their military service.
After leaving Congress, Walsh began a career in radio, hosting The Joe Walsh Show in Chicago. The conservative show became nationally syndicated in 2017, but one day after announcing his run for president, Walsh said he lost the show.
"I am running for president. I oppose this president," he told CNN. "Most of my listeners support the president. It's not an easy thing to do to be in conservative talk radio and oppose this president."
On the issues
His campaign website includes a written note and video explaining why he is running for president but offers no details on issues.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Walsh has a history of flip-flopping on some issues, including his support of Trump. During the 2016 campaign, Walsh threw his support behind the real estate mogul. Last week, he called the president "dishonest, cruel, ignorant, indecent, narcissistic, disloyal, unpatriotic and cowardly."
"And I helped create him," Walsh tweeted.
On healthcare, Walsh opposes government-subsidized insurance. When he joined Congress in 2012, he declined to accept the government health insurance to which he was entitled as a government employee.
During his campaigns in the 1990s, Walsh supported access to abortion, a ban on assault weapons and background checks for gun purchases. By 2010, though, he reversed his stances on those issues.
Walsh expressed opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement, which calls for a check on police use of force, after the 2016 shooting of five Dallas police officers.
Many of his comments since his Sunday announcement have focused on Trump.
"My niece asked me this morning what the president of the United States was talking about today. I told her he's talking about bedbugs at one of his resort properties. That's all," he tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
