Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) told The Hill that lunch with President Trump was “delightful” despite a history of clashing with the president that stretches back to the 2016 presidential primary.
Romney and Trump shook hands at the White House lunch Thursday, and Romney said there didn’t appear to be any signs of lingering tension between the two of them, even though Trump slammed the senator last month as a “pompous ass.”
NBC News: “In Utah, many of the more than two dozen Republican voters interviewed… expressed disapproval at Romney’s digs at Trump and his generally receptive approach to the House investigation.”
“About Romney’s shots at Trump, most had harsh words for their junior senator, with many accusing him of harboring feelings of resentment and envy stemming from his failed 2012 bid and the Trump State Department saga.”
NBC News: “While that House-side inquiry has put a heat lamp on Republican senators from states where voters aren’t thrilled with the president’s actions — particularly swing-state lawmakers who are up for re-election in 2020 — Romney’s criticism of Trump hasn’t prompted those colleagues to follow him into the political no-man’s land of finding fault with both the president’s conduct and the divisiveness of impeachment.”
“Rather, it has renewed speculation among GOP critics in Washington and in Utah that Romney has ulterior motives — jealousy, retribution, Oval Office ambition or some potent mix of all three. After all, Romney ran for president twice and lost before Trump won the job, and then Trump made him publicly audition for secretary of State before passing him over.”
McKay Coppins asked Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) about the newly-discovered “Pierre Delecto” Twitter account.
His only response: “C’est moi.”
Axios: “As Delecto, Romney liked critical tweets about President Trump, who has attacked Romney on Twitter in the past. The senator also occasionally used the account to defend himself against detractors.”
In a fiery speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) called for Senate hearings into President Trump’s decision to withdrawal U.S. troops from Syria.
Said Romney: “So America is diminished, Russia, Iran and Assad are strengthened. And so I ask, how and why this decision was reached.”
He added :”Was there no chance for diplomacy? Are we so weak and so inept diplomatically that Turkey forced the hand of the United States of America? Turkey?”
“As House Democrats push forward with an impeachment inquiry into President Trump, Republicans have largely rushed to Mr. Trump’s defense, or at least tempered their criticism to avoid his furious reprisals,” the New York Times reports.
“Among the handful of exceptions, though, there has been none louder or more prominent than Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, a figure who once embodied the essence of the Republican Party before Mr. Trump commandeered it, and is now in a lonely category of his own.”
President Trump reshared a video of Mitt Romney’s 2012 defeat to President Barack Obama after the senator called for more information on Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president.
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.”
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.”
“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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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