Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld who has launched an exploratory committee to potentially primary President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020, compared the president to infamous Roman emperors Nero and Caligula.

Weld said, “All his instincts are against the interest of the United States. It’s amazing that he is president of the United States.”

When asked who he thinks Trump is in history, Weld said, “Maybe Nero, maybe Caligula, a Roman emperor who is totally autocratic. He admires the autocrats in history. That makes me nervous as an American. ”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN