Telegraph photo by ADAM URQUHART While at Nashua’s Norton’s Classic Cafe on Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate William Weld sits with Dover resident Daniel Pontoh and Keene resident Philip Rondeau. Here, Rondeau poses a question to the candidate while finishing up his lunch.

“New Hampshire is special,” Weld said in acknowledging the Granite State’s first-in-the-nation primary status, all while enjoying his lunch at Norton’s Classic Cafe on Main Street.

Referring to himself as a “Reagan Republican” in recognition of President Ronald Reagan, Weld said he strongly disagrees with Trump on many fronts, notably:

• free trade versus tariffs,

• immigration,

In Nashua on Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate William Weld said he is an “eatin’ man.” He finally got to enjoy his grilled cheese and chips in between interviews and shaking hands with folks at Norton’s Classic Cafe. This was his third diner-style stop of the day before heading to Manchester.

• deficit spending,

• climate change,

• social issues, including abortion and LGBTQ rights, and

• the importance of foreign alliances.

“The accumulated deficit is approaching $30 trillion now,” Weld said. “That’s not fair to the generation of millennials and Gen X’ers, assuming that debt is going to repaid at all. If it’s not, then the United States is going to move toward bankruptcy because no one’s minding the store and balancing the checkbook in

Telegraph photo by ADAM URQUHART Republican presidential candidate William Weld on Tuesday signs an autograph for Nashua resident Michael Mathewson at Norton’s Classic Cafe.

Washington.”

“The dirty little secret is that immigration is necessary for the United States to be able to meet its economic needs, particularly in the western part of the country,” Weld added. “The agricultural industry and the construction industry would both grind to a halt in the absence of migration from the south.”

Weld is no stranger to politics or public office, having been appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts by Reagan in 1981. He later served as governor of the Bay State from 1991-97.

Now, he is challenging Trump for the 2020 Republican nomination. Weld believes Trump is bad for the country because, he said, the president tries to divide America, calling Trump’s efforts a “hyper-nationalist-exclusionary-theme.”

“It’s one of the animating factors in causing me to want to undermine what Mr. Trump is trying to do,” Weld said.

Weld said he has shown in office that he knows how to cut spending and cut taxes, both of which he said need to happen in Washington, D.C.

Weld said Trump has set out to insult the country’s military allies, and to instead praise dictators and autocrats around the world and trying to help them. He strongly disagrees with this action.

Lastly, Weld said another issue for him is Trump being a “climate denier.”

“He’s doing that, obviously, without any examination of the issue because the science is no longer debatable,” Weld said.

As something of a liberal Republican, Weld knows performing well in New England — particularly New Hampshire — will be vital for him. He also plans to spend a lot of time in the East Coast states such as New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. He also said the West should be fertile ground, hinting toward California and the strong opposition to Trump that is seen out there. He also said that Oregon and Washington are hospitable to his brand of politics.

Weld said New Hampshire is a force multiplier in that, if a candidate can do well in the Granite State, it creates a “kaboom effect” on everything that comes after it.

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