Ron Paul believes President Donald Trump could be opening himself up to a challenge in the 2020 Republican primary, especially if "things are really much worse" than they appear to be.

“The big opening for us is the fact that this system is coming apart. We’re on the verge of something like what happened in ‘89 when the Soviet system just collapsed. I’m just hoping our system comes apart as gracefully as the Soviet system,” Paul said in an interview with The Washington Examiner.

If it happened it would be the first time since Pat Buchanan ran against George H.W. Bush in 1992 that a sitting president was challenged by a member of his own party. It didn't work out well for Buchanan, who didn't win a single primary, but Buchanan interestingly enough ran as "an anti-trade, anti-war populist and unabashed culture warrior."

Paul says:

“We as libertarians have some work to do before are going to accept a true-blue libertarian, but I think moving in that direction and having a popular candidate is very possible.”

He added, "If they only hear our message, I know they would choose liberty and sound money and freedom and peace over the mess we have today."

Ron Paul became a nationally-recognized name when he ran for president in the Republican primary in 2008 and 2012. This also helped launch a grassroots campaign to get his son, Rand Paul, elected to the US Senate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKZmIzEMUN8

In his interview with The Washington Examiner, Paul cautions people that the economic boom the US is experiencing is "an illusion."

The Washington Examiner reports:

"Paul said 'the country’s feeling a lot better, but it’s all on borrowed money' and that 'the whole system’s an illusion' built on corporate, personal, and governmental debt. 'It’s a bubble economy in many many different ways and it’s going to come unglued,' he said."

But he was not 100% critical of President Trump:

“Trump’s being a good cheerleader. He’s a cheerleader for Wall Street, and I keep my fingers crossed, maybe lowering some of the taxes will help, certainly lowering the regulations. But I think the problems are so deep and structural,” Paul said.

Read the full interview from The Washington Examiner here.