Could former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld be the candidate who can topple President Trump in the 2020 primary?

According to some Republicans, crazier things have happened.

Weld has stoked presidential speculation with his vocal criticisms of Trump, and by his recent decision to return to the Republican Party after spending several years as a registered Libertarian. In his speech, Weld isn't expected to pull any punches when it comes to his views of the president.

If he does declare his candidacy or announce the formation of an exploratory committee, Weld would become the first Republican to announce a primary challenge to Trump.

But Weld wouldn’t necessarily have to win the primary to topple Trump, strategists said. They point to a number of recent presidents who fended off serious primary challengers only to lose in the general election: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush.

But Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said the analogies to Ford, Carter and Bush “don’t work with Weld in the equation.”

“I see this, like his 2016 Libertarian vice presidential nomination, as a way to keep his name in the news,” O’Connell said. “Unless something dramatically changes, Trump has a stranglehold on the 2020 Republican presidential nomination.”

Read more from Kimberly Atkins at WBUR

I know it is early, but the Gallup graphic below is a good sign for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential bid...From Buzzfeed: 

Modern presidents who got re-elected were all leading in the polls at this point in their presidencies — as were some who lost anyway.

Ouch...the Jimmy Carter comparisons just keep coming for President Obama. Lauren Fox at U.S. News & World Report has more:

Under the Carter administration, gas prices increased by 103.77 percent. Gas prices since Obama took office have risen by 103.79 percent. No other presidents in recent years have struggled as much with soaring oil prices. Under the Reagan administration, gas prices actually dropped 66 percent. When Bill Clinton was president, gas prices grew by roughly 30 percent, and under both Bush presidencies, gas prices rose by 20 percent.

Ford O'Connell and Democratic strategist Christy Setzer join Fox News' Arthel Neville On America's News HQ to discuss the March 2012 jobs report, the state of the economy and what it means for President Obama's re-election bid.