By Gabriella Muñoz - The Washington Times 

Photo by: Patrick Semansky
In this Jan. 30, 2019, file photo Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan delivers his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the legislature in Annapolis, Md. Hogan says he's not launching a primary challenge against President Donald Trump unless the president's political standing within his own party weakens dramatically. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) **FILE**

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan accused the Republican National Committee of overprotecting President Trump from a fair primary challenge, but left the door open for a 2020 bid of his own. 

He said the RNC and the Trump campaign have become far too entangled as the president is pushing for re-election.

“Typically they try to be fair arbiters of a process and I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been involved in the Republican Party for most of my life. It’s unprecedented. And in my opinion it’s not the way we should be going about our politics,” he said in an interview with Politico, released Thursday.

RNC spokeswoman Cassie Smedile pushed back against Mr. Hogan in a statement to Politico.

“President Trump doesn’t need any assistance to protect him from primary challengers. He has an unprecedented level of support among Republican voters. The unanimous resolution in support of the president’s reelection at our winter meeting showed just that,” she said. “Any effort to challenge President Trump in a primary is bound to go absolutely nowhere, as Governor Hogan acknowledges.”

RNC spokeswoman Cassie Smedile pushed back against Mr. Hogan in a statement to Politico.

“President Trump doesn’t need any assistance to protect him from primary challengers. He has an unprecedented level of support among Republican voters. The unanimous resolution in support of the president’s reelection at our winter meeting showed just that,” she said. “Any effort to challenge President Trump in a primary is bound to go absolutely nowhere, as Governor Hogan acknowledges.”

Mr. Hogan told Politico he is planning to make a trip to New Hampshire in the spring, but is in no rush to make a decision on whether or not he’ll decide to run.

Source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/feb/22/larry-hogan-hits-rnc-protecting-trump-primary-chal/