Bill Weld jokes about not kissing the back of a child's head because he doesn't want to be accused, like Joe Biden, of making people uncomfortable. He tells voters they wouldn't know how obese Americans truly are until they go to county fairs, where "those overalls are working overtime." And he believes his opponent's policies are trending in the direction of Adolf Hitler.
For now, Weld is the most prominent Republican in revolt, mounting a primary challenge to President Donald Trump.
But in places like New Hampshire, where there's a healthy contingent of Republicans uneasy with Trump, Weld is still a hard sell. As he's toured the state in recent months, the 73-year-old's eccentricities have left Republicans and independents who are cold on the president scratching their head.
"(I'm) still looking for my white knight," said Fergus Cullen, a former state Republican Party chairman who opposes Trump.
To say Weld, a former governor of Massachusetts, faces an uphill battle would be a dramatic understatement.
The long odds are why other Republicans who have criticized Trump, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, haven't jumped at overtures to challenge a president who remains popular inside his party.
"I don't know how successful the campaign is going to be, but I admire him for being willing to step up," Hogan said.
The people who see Weld speak want to like him, or at least like him more than the man in the White House. But he's still a novelty rather than a viable contender, they say.
"It's an exercise in futility," said Wayne Chick, a longtime GOP supporter who says he's "sick and tired" of Trump's negative rhetoric.
Those loyal to Trump don't spare him their scorn.
"It's just going to be a joke," said Dan Chicoine, a 73-year-old Vietnam veteran. "He's not going anyplace."
The heart of Weld's campaign depends on New Hampshire because of the ability of independents to vote in the GOP primary. Still, he has fewer resources in New Hampshire than even the longshot Democratic contenders.
As of late May, Weld estimated that only eight staffers work for his campaign. He says his job is to raise money, appear on national TV and campaign in New Hampshire and a handful of other states.
"I don't need 25 people as an entourage to do what I'm doing these days," Weld said.
He tries to comfort voters by telling stories of his 1990s tenure as governor of Massachusetts. He speaks less about running in the election that sent his opponent to the White House in the first place.
Weld doesn't regret his involvement in the 2016 race as former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson's running mate on the Libertarian presidential ticket and dismisses any blame for Trump getting elected.
Johnson, who has ruled out running for president again in 2020, doesn't begrudge his former running mate's presidential run and return to the GOP.
"Hey, by proxy I get to debate Trump through Weld," Johnson said.
Weld's sporadic New Hampshire campaign has taken him to a house party of fewer than 30 people where he rested his weight on a creaky banister as his wife gently prodded him from the back of the room about topics he may be forgetting. And it's taken him in front of baseball fans where he turned a troubling shade of red shaking hands outside a minor league game.
But the voters Weld needs, the independents who he thinks give him a path to victory, aren't going to see him speak. They're watching the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates instead.
Mary Tanzer, a 60-year-old doctor and independent voter, voted for Kasich in the 2016 GOP primary and isn't moved by Weld's attempt.
"I'm not really crazy about him," she said, leaving a Democratic event. "If I thought there was a chance (Weld) could win, I would probably vote in the Republican primary and vote against Donald Trump."
Former small-business owner Jay Buckley, 66, has held out hope for Kasich, the man he voted for in the 2016 GOP primary. He voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump in the general election and spent a recent Sunday watching Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro speak.
"I'm not crazy about Bill Weld," Buckley said. "I wish somebody really good would challenge Trump."
TOKYO (AP) — The American envoy to the United Nations called Friday for countries armed with atomic weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament as she visited the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki, Japan.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who became the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Nagasaki, stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy amid a growing nuclear threat in the region.
“We must continue to work together to create an environment for nuclear disarmament. We must continue to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in every corner of the world,” she said after a tour of the atomic bomb museum.
“For those of us who already have those weapons, we must pursue arms control. We can and must work to ensure that Nagasaki is the last place to ever experience the horror of nuclear weapons,” she added, standing in front of colorful hanging origami cranes, a symbol of peace.
The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.
Nagasaki Gov. Kengo Oishi said in a statement that he believed Thomas-Greenfield's visit and her first-person experience at the museum “will be a strong message in promoting momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international society at a time the world faces a severe environment surrounding atomic weapons.”
Oishi said he conveyed to the ambassador the increasingly important role of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in emphasizing the need of nuclear disarmament.
Thomas-Greenfield's visit to Japan comes on the heels of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the United States last week and is aimed at deepening Washington's trilateral ties with Tokyo and Seoul. During her visit to South Korea earlier this week, she held talks with South Korean officials, met with defectors from North Korea and visited the demilitarized zone.
The ambassador said the United States is looking into setting up a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia and China have thwarted U.S.-led efforts to step up U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a deepening divide between permanent Security Council members over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
She said it would be “optimal” to launch the new system next month, though it is uncertain if that is possible.
The U.N. Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions, and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years until last month, when Russia vetoed another renewal.
In its most recent report, the panel of experts said it is investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its weapons development.
The United States, Japan and South Korea have been deepening security ties amid growing tension in the region from North Korea and China.
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, speaks to Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, second right, as they wait for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, right, walk to meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, talk prior to a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, prepare to talk during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
