Republican & former CIA agent to run against Donald Trump

As if Hillary Clinton were not formidable enough of a rival, Donald Trump now faces competition from a new quarter — a largely unknown Republican dissident.

Former CIA agent Evan McMullin announced his independent presidential bid as an alternative to Republican nominee Donald Trump on Monday.

Backed by conservative group Better For America, which opposes Trump, the former CIA counterterrorism operative said on his Facebook page, “It’s never too late to do the right thing, and America deserves much better than either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton can offer us. I humbly offer myself as a leader who can give millions of disaffected Americans a conservative choice for President.”

Though the 40-year-old Mormon has never held elected office, he has been an outspoken critic of Mr Trump on social media, calling the businessman “authoritarian”. In a Facebook post, Mr McMullin condemned Mr Trump’s anti-Muslim rhe-toric, saying, “Attacking them as a group makes America weaker, not stronger”.