Carly Fiorina slams GOP loyalty to President Trump, drawing speculation she might challenge him

Is Carly Fiorina mulling over a challenge to President Donald Trump? That's the question many were left asking Monday after Fiorina targeted the president and the Republican Party with blistering critique.

Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO who ran for the Republican nomination in 2016, illuminated what many so-called "NeverTrump" Republicans criticize in the age of Trump: the newfound emphasis on loyalty to Trump.

"When did so many Republicans decide that we should also pledge allegiance to The Party and swear fidelity to President Trump?" Fiorina wrote.

"I have been called 'disloyal' because I am critical of Trump. I am not alone," she added. "Many others have been intimidated into silence or compelled to defend the indefensible."

Silencing those disloyal to the president amounts to an abdication of "our responsibility to help create a 'more perfect union,'" Fiorina said, insisting that Trump must earn loyalty from Americans — not coerce it.

"As citizens, it is both our responsibility and our right to hold elected officials accountable: for their words, their actions and the consequences of both," Fiorina wrote.

Fiorina has been mostly silent about Trump since he took office in 2017. She endorsed Trump ahead of the 2016 general election — after first joining Texas Sen. Ted Cruz as his running mate — but later rescinded the endorsement after the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape surfaced. At the time, Fiorina urged Trump to step aside to allow Mike Pence to run as the Republican nominee.

So, the question remains: Will Fiorina become the fourth Republican to challenge Trump?

"She's not running," a source close to Fiorina told National Review. "She has no plans to run in the Republican primary against Trump or as a third-party candidate."