Larry Hogan, pondering Trump challenge, casts himself as a traditional Republican

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan acknowledges that many Republicans nationwide who have heard about his potential presidential ambitions probably view him as a centrist with little hope of finding support in President Donald Trump's GOP. But amid growing tensions between Trump and Republican lawmakers over foreign policy and the president's treatment of global alliances, Hogan is signaling that if he decides to wage an insurgent campaign for the GOP nomination, he would pitch himself as far more in tune with the party's long-held values and worldview than Trump. "I come from the Ronald Reagan school of politics," Hogan said last week in a wide-ranging interview at the state capitol, shaking his head in disapproval when asked whether he shares Trump's nationalism. He said groups such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a frequent target of Trump's ire, are "critically important." He expressed alarm about the way the president is "not standing by or standing up for some of our allies," and he poked fun at Trump's competence. "For a guy who wrote a book 'The Art of the Deal,' he's just not making good deals," Hogan said with a laugh. "Sometimes, he's his own worst enemy, and there is a better way to accomplish things." Hogan, 62, who in November became the second GOP governor in history to win re-election in liberal Maryland, is one of several Republicans considering a challenge to Trump, although the president remains overwhelmingly popular among Republican voters. That list also includes former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who conceded recently that, at least in today's party, he could not beat Trump in a primary. Hogan, sitting in his gubernatorial office and insisting that he is happy and busy as governor, presented himself as a lifelong conservative who has adapted to

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