US: Castro announces 2020 presidential election bid to take on Trump 0

A top Hispanic politician has announced his bid to run in the US 2020 presidential election in an effort to deny the current US leader, Donald Trump, a second term.

Former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro, a Democrat, made the announcement in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas Saturday.

“I am a candidate for president of the United States of America,” he said during a speech. “There is a crisis today, it’s a crisis of leadership. Donald Trump has failed to uphold the values of our great nation.”

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The 44-year-old officially launched his presidential campaign as preparations were underway for two key conventions in the Latino political world.

If elected, Castro will be the first Hispanic president in US history.

“I know that with your help and support we have the best candidate with the best ideas and the biggest heart,” said his brother, Texas Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro.

The former Obama administration official has pledged support for various progressive positions, including a “Medicare for all” single-payer health care system.

He has also vowed to “recommit the United States to the Paris climate accord,” which Trump scrapped.

The GOP rushed to respond to Castro’s announcement, calling him a “one of the biggest lightweights to ever run for president.”

“Julián Castro has made history by becoming one of the biggest lightweights to ever run for president. He was a weak mayor who couldn’t even handle being HUD secretary. This is obviously just another desperate attempt to become someone else’s running mate,” Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Ahrens said.

Castro served as the mayor of San Antonio until 2014.

His bid for the White House in 2020 was announced ahead of conventions by Bold PAC — the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s (CHC) campaign arm — and the Latino Victory Fund in Puerto Rico on Sunday.