Jeb Bush wants Trump to face primary challenger

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) wants a Republican to challenge President Trump in the 2020 primary.

“I think someone should run. Just because Republicans ought to be given a choice,” Bush said in an interview that will air Saturday on CNN’s “The Axe Files.”

Bush, one of the candidates who lost the 2016 GOP presidential primary to Trump, said it would be challenging for any contender.

He noted that Trump “has a strong, loyal base” and that “it’s hard to beat a sitting president.”

{mosads}“But to have a conversation about what it is to be a conservative I think is important,” Bush added. “And our country needs to have competing ideologies … that are dynamic, that focus on the world we’re in and the world we’re moving towards rather than revert back to a nostalgic time.” 

Bush was seen as a favorite for the 2016 nomination before losing it to Trump, who knocked him as “low energy Jeb.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) are both considering White House bids next year. Trump could have a challenger in former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld (R), who launched a presidential exploratory committee last month. 

Bush lauded Hogan at the Maryland Republican’s inauguration earlier this year, touting him as being “at the top of a list of leaders that I admire today.”

Bush did not say if he has spoken to Hogan about 2020.