Mitt Romney

Romney Gives First Senate Speech

June 4, 2019 at 12:54 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mitt Romney gave his first speech on the Senate floor, defending the international alliances that have come under attack by President Trump, The Hill reports.

Said Romney: “Alliances are absolutely essential to America’s security, to our future, I can’t state that more plainly. We need to hold our friends closer not neglect them or drive them away.”

He added that such alliances are key to countering China, since the U.S. has “many friends” but “China has very few.”

Washington Post: “Romney did not mention Trump by name in what was his first major address since joining the Senate in January, but his remarks amounted to a gentle rebuke of some of the president’s foreign policy priorities as Trump was in the midst of a trip to Europe.”

Inside Romney’s Trump Strategy

May 31, 2019 at 6:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “With both a pledge to be independent and membership in a party which demands support for President Donald Trump at every turn, the junior senator from Utah faces a squeeze on essentially every major vote he takes and each response to Trump’s controversies.”

“Romney has voted this year against Trump more than most other Senate Republicans, torpedoed Herman Cain’s chances on the Federal Reserve and even defended former President Barack Obama. Yet he still broadly supports Trump’s agenda and is with him far more often than not.”

Romney Rejects Trump Pick Who Disparaged Obama

May 14, 2019 at 2:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Mitt Romney was the only Republican senator to vote against one of President Trump’s judicial nominees on Tuesday. And he did so in part to defend former President Barack Obama,” Politico reports.

Said Romney: “He made particularly disparaging comments about President Obama. And as the Republican nominee for president, I just couldn’t subscribe to that in a federal judge. This was not a matter of qualifications or politics. This was something specifically to that issue as a former nominee of our party.”

Huckabee Slams Romney Over Trump Criticism

April 19, 2019 at 9:24 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) blasted Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) after the Utah Republican said he was “sickened” by President Trump’s actions in the Mueller report, The Hill reports.

Said Huckabee: “Know what makes me sick, Mitt? Not how disingenuous you were to take Donald Trump’s money and then 4 years later jealously trash him and then love him again when you begged to be Secretary of State, but makes me sick that you got the GOP nomination and could have been president.”

Romney Says He’s ‘Sickened’ By Trump’s Actions

April 19, 2019 at 4:59 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said that he was “sickened” by President Trump’s actions described in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, Politico reports.

Said Romney: “I am sickened at the extent and pervasiveness of dishonesty and misdirection by individuals in the highest office of the land, including the President. I am also appalled that, among other things fellow citizens working in a campaign for president welcomed help from Russia.”

Romney Doesn’t See GOP Breaking with Trump

January 22, 2019 at 5:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) told UtahPolicy.com that he doesn’t know when or how the partial government shutdown will end, and he’s not sure what will break the budget impasse that is now more than 30 days old.

Said Romney: “I think it’s extremely unlikely that Republicans would say they’re not going to follow the president’s lead on this now. I think Republicans are going to say the president is negotiating on their behalf. I just don’t see very many Republicans that would be willing to depart from the leadership of the White House.”

Mitt Romney Gets Chilly Reception from GOP Senators

January 8, 2019 at 6:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “When Romney heads into his first Republican Conference meeting later this week, he might face an awkward reception from many of his fellow Republican senators. Some are scratching their heads about why Romney ripped Trump in a Washington Post op-ed; others are angry about reopening an intraparty divide. And it could color how Senate Republicans view Romney over the long term, raising questions about his effectiveness in the GOP conference.”

Perdue Slams Romney for Criticizing Trump

January 5, 2019 at 10:31 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) accused Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) in the Washington Post of “character assassination of the president” and that he “put self-interest ahead of the larger national interest: conservative Republican governance.”

“The op-ed brought to mind 2012, when many Republicans chose to divide the party by continually bashing each other. Romney eventually discovered that many discouraged GOP voters decided to stay home on Election Day.”

“Like others who have run for president and failed, Romney has taken a stance that smacks of jealousy and resentment. It does nothing but serve the radical liberal left and further divides conservatives.”

Romney Is Already Raising Big Money

November 23, 2018 at 6:54 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Romney… will be no ordinary freshman senator. He is expected to use his national profile and formidable fundraising network to collect chits and help elect Republicans across the country. Believe in America PAC and Team Mitt, a Romney-backed joint fundraising committee, were set up immediately after the Nov. 6 midterm election. Both vehicles can be used to send donations to GOP candidates.”

“Romney has made little secret that he intends to use his outsize profile as senator. Prior to the election, he backed an array of Republican candidates in races up and down the ballot.”

Exchange of the Day

July 2, 2018 at 9:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mitt Romney was interviewed by Kasie Hunt on MSNBC:

HUNT: Will you vote for President Trump in 2020? You said you think he’s going to get re-elected.

ROMNEY: It – it’s too early to say who I will support. Yes, I did say I think he’ll get reelected. That’s not an endorsement. I mean I – I also think that Gavin Newsome will get elected in California. That’s not something I want to see, that’s just something that’s probably going to happen.

HUNT: Do you want somebody to run against him? Against President Trump?

ROMNEY: It’s not a question of want. There will be people who decide, I presume, to get in a Republican primary. I think the president’s support among Republicans – what is it now? Ninety percent approval? It suggests he will be able to become the nominee relatively easily. And I think the Democrats, if any indication comes from New York last night, I think the Democrats are going to go further left. They’re likely to nominate someone further from the mainstream of American thought and in a setting like that, I think the president gets re-elected.

HUNT: But you’re not yet willing to say that you’ll vote for him?

ROMNEY: I’m not willing to say who I’m going to support at this stage. That’s a little early for that, but the time will come.

Romney Says He’ll Speak Out Against Trump

June 25, 2018 at 6:12 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mitt Romney, writing in the Salt Lake Tribune:

“I have and will continue to speak out when the president says or does something which is divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions. I do not make this a daily commentary; I express contrary views only when I believe it is a matter of substantial significance.”

Romney Plans to Be Major Player in the Senate

June 10, 2018 at 11:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Mitt Romney is mapping out plans to become a major player in the Senate — positioning himself to be the spokesman of a listless Republican Party establishment that’s been steamrolled by President Trump,” Politico reports.

“The failed presidential candidate turned Utah Senate hopeful has made it clear to senior party officials that he intends to make a splash with his all-but-certain arrival on Capitol Hill next year… He’s conveyed a desire to be a loud voice on fiscal issues, railing against the ballooning federal deficit and how Congress approves last-minute spending bills. He’s expressed an interest in joining the foreign affairs committee, saying he wants to speak out on the importance of the country’s role abroad and the threat posed by Russia.”

“And his top aides have broached the prospect that Romney could tap into the expansive national fundraising network that he established during his 2012 presidential bid to bankroll GOP candidates.”

Romney Predicts Trump Will Be Re-Elected

June 8, 2018 at 7:24 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Utah U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney (R) “bluntly predicted” that President Trump would win reelection in 2020, Politico reports.

“Addressing a group of major GOP donors, Romney — who bitterly collided with Trump during the 2016 campaign and implored his party to nominate someone else — also said Trump would easily capture the Republican Party’s 2020 nomination. He said Trump’s political fortunes would be bolstered by a pair of factors: an improving economy and the likelihood that Democrats would choose an outside-the-mainstream candidate.”

Said Romney: “I think President Trump will be re-nominated by my party easily, and I think he’ll be reelected solidly.”

Romney Voted for His Wife for President

May 30, 2018 at 9:10 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mitt Romney told the Deseret News that he wrote in his wife, Ann Romney, as his vote for president in 2016.

Said Romney: “I wrote in the name of a person who I admire deeply, who I think would be an excellent president. I realized it wasn’t going to go anywhere, but nonetheless felt that I was putting in a very solid name.”

Romney Sides with Trump on Tariffs

April 6, 2018 at 9:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney (R) sees President Trump’s proposed $100 billion in new tariffs on China as a shot across the bow but doesn’t think it would lead to trade war, the Deseret News reports.

Said Romney: “I think the president is leading with some policies that will wake up our friends in China and they’ll recognize that business as usual is going to have to change. China over the years has taken advantage of the attitude in America, which is we haven’t watched very closely and they’ve been cheating.”

Romney Would Deport Dreamers

March 27, 2018 at 11:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Utah U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney (R) said he’s more conservative on certain issues than President Trump, the Provo Daily Herald reports.

Said Romney: “For instance, I’m a deficit hawk. That makes me more conservative than a lot of Republicans and a lot of Democrats. I’m also more of a hawk on immigration than even the president. My view was these DACA kids shouldn’t all be allowed to stay in the country legally.”

Flake Says Romney Could Create New ‘Power Center’

March 15, 2018 at 4:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) told Roll Call that the Senate needs someone like Mitt Romney to be an “independent voice.”

Said Flake: “We need Mitt Romney in the Senate. We need an independent voice, somebody who will enter the Senate chamber with immediate gravitas and someone who can work across the aisle, and actually, I think, create a whole new power center in the Senate. I think that’s desperately needed.”

Russian Trolls Tried to Torpedo Romney as Top Diplomat

March 8, 2018 at 10:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Weeks after Donald Trump was elected president, Russia-backed online ‘trolls’ flooded social media to try to block Mitt Romney from securing a top job in the incoming administration,” a Wall Street Journal analysis shows.

“The operatives called the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, then a contender for secretary of state, a ‘two headed snake’ and a ‘globalist puppet,’ promoted a rally outside Trump Tower and spread a petition to block Mr. Romney’s appointment to the top diplomatic job, according to a review of now-deleted social-media posts.”