Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) on Tuesday criticized former president Donald Trump ahead of the Republican’s highly anticipated 2024 announcement, contending that it is time to put “new players on the field” of the GOP.
Trump teased a big announcement last week ahead of the midterm elections, and it is set to take place this evening at Mar-a-Lago.
“I’m going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, November 15, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida,” Trump said at his political rally in Ohio Monday of last week. And on Tuesday morning, Trump previewed the announcement again on TruthSocial.
“Hopefully TODAY will turn out to be one of the most important days in the history of our Country!” he exclaimed.
While Trump has already seen support from some members of GOP leadership, such as House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who deemed Trump the “the leader of the Republican Party,” some establishment Republicans are not so thrilled about the coming announcement.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who has a long history of backstabbing Trump — notably embracing him when he was in need of a Senate endorsement in 2018 — is not sold on Trump 2024.
“He’s been on the mound and lost three straight games. If we want to start winning, we need someone else on the mound. And we’ve got a very strong bench that can come out,” Romney said, according to the AP.
“I know, there’s some fans that love him. Just like, you know, an aging pitcher, they’re always fans that want to keep them there forever. But if you keep losing games, try to put some new players on the field,” the failed 2012 presidential candidate, who seemingly failed to take his own advice following his own loss, added.
This would hardly be the first time Romney has spoken out against the prospect of a Trump 2024 run.
He dissed the idea of a Trump comeback in an op-ed for the Atlantic over the summer, concluding the former president would “feed the sickness, probably rendering it incurable” while praising President Biden as a “genuinely good man.”
“President Joe Biden is a genuinely good man, but he has yet been unable to break through our national malady of denial, deceit, and distrust. A return of Donald Trump would feed the sickness, probably rendering it incurable,” Romney wrote in part, hoping for a leader who could “rise above the din to unite us behind the truth.”
Romney added that there were “several contenders with experience and smarts stand in the wings,” though it remains unclear who, exactly, he was referencing.
Despite that op-ed, however, Romney admitted earlier this year that Trump would win the 2024 Republican nomination, telling Politico, “It’s hard to imagine anything that would derail his support.”
“So if he wants to become the nominee in ‘24, I think he’s very likely to achieve that,” he added.
That follows a long, muddied history between the two, as Romney has cozied up to Trump at times he needed him, making moves that were politically savvy for him personally.
As Breitbart News detailed in a brief timeline:
- February 2012: Romney seeks, and receives, Trump’s endorsement in the Republican presidential primary, beating several other contenders who wanted the billionaire’s backing. The Romney campaign proudly touted Trump’s nod. CBS News reported at the time, “Romney’s campaign formally unveiled the endorsement at an event in Las Vegas.”
- March 2016: Romney delivers a speech in Utah devoted entirely to trashing Trump: “Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He’s playing the members of the American public for suckers. He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat.” However, with the primary still undecided, Romney declined to support any of Trump’s rivals, meaning the speech amounted to little more than abuse. (Some of those present at the time speculated Romney was laying the foundation for a political comeback.)
- November 2016: Romney, humbled by Trump’s victory, offers to join President-elect Trump’s cabinet, and seeks the job of Secretary of State. After meetings at Trump Tower, Romney fails to win the job — but issues a statement praising Trump and thanking him for the opportunity: “It was an honor to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country. My discussions with President-elect Trump have been both enjoyable and enlightening. I have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace.”
- February 2018: Romney receives Trump’s endorsement in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate in Utah and accepts it — despite having declared in 2016 he would not have accepted Trump’s endorsement if given the choice again.
- January 2019: Romney publishes an anti-Trump op-ed in an anti-Trump newspaper on the first day of the new year — declaring, without irony: “A president should demonstrate the essential qualities of honesty and integrity.”
It appears Romney plans to continue the same pattern, as Trump prepares to make his big announcement Tuesday evening.
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