OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who has been one of the biggest detractors of former President Donald Trump in the party, has come to grips with reality.
The senator, who voted both times to impeach the former president, said that Trump will be the nominee if he campaigns for president in 2024, Politico reported.
“I don’t delude myself into thinking I have a big swath of the Republican Party,” he said on Wednesday. “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.”
The former president has hinted at possibly being a candidate for president in 2024 but has not made an announcement.
But his power over the Republican Party was shown this week when JD Vance emerged victorious in the primary for Senate in Ohio.
Author J.D. Vance is now the Republican nominee for Senate in Ohio, after receiving the coveted endorsement of the former president, The New York Times reported.
“I’ve got to say, a lot of the fake news media — and there are there are some good ones in the back there, and there’s some bad ones too, let’s be honest — but they wanted to write a story that this campaign would be the death of Donald Trump’s America First agenda,” the candidate said in his victory speech. “Ladies and gentlemen, it ain’t the death of the America First agenda.”
Casting himself as a fighter against the nation’s elites, Mr. Vance ran as a Trump-style pugilist and outsider who railed against the threats of drugs, Democrats and illegal immigration, while thoroughly backpedaling from his past criticisms of the former president.
The contest, which saw nearly $80 million in television advertising, was one of the most anticipated of the 2022 primary season for its potential to provide an early signal of the direction of the Republican Party.
The result delivered a strong affirmation of Mr. Trump’s continued grip on his party’s base. But a fuller assessment of Mr. Trump’s sway will come through a series of primaries in the next four weeks — in West Virginia, North Carolina, Idaho, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
“MAGA patriots from across the nation are set to deliver an election landside for Republicans that will serve as a devastating rebuke of the failures of Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats. In the Great State of Ohio, the candidate most qualified and ready to win in November is J.D. Vance. We cannot play games. It is all about winning!” the former president said in his endorsement.
“Like some others, J.D. Vance may have said some not so great things about me in the past, but he gets it now, and I have seen that in spades. He is our best chance for victory in what could be a very tough race. The Democrats will be spending many millions of dollars, but the good news is that they have a defective candidate who ran for President and garnered exactly zero percent in the polls. The bottom line is, we must have a Republican victory in Ohio,” he said.
“This is not an easy endorsement for me to make because I like and respect some of the other candidates in the race—they’ve said great things about “Trump” and, like me, they love Ohio and love our Country. I’ve studied this race closely and I think J.D. is the most likely to take out the weak, but dangerous, Democrat opponent—dangerous because they will have so much money to spend. However, J.D. will destroy him in the debates and will fight for the MAGA Movement in the Senate. He’s strong on the Border, tough on Crime, understands how to use Taxes and Tariffs to hold China accountable, will fight to break up Big Tech, and has been a warrior on the Rigged and Stolen Presidential Election. J.D. is a Marine who served in the Iraq War, a graduate of The Ohio State University, and earned a Law Degree from Yale—a great student. With J.D. Vance, Ohio gets both brains and brawn. Ohio has been good to me, I won it twice, really BIG, and I have likewise been GREAT for Ohio. Let’s keep it going!” the former president said.
“It is time for the entire MAGA movement, the greatest in the history of our Country, to unite behind J.D.’s campaign because, unlike so many other pretenders and wannabes, he will put America First. In other words, J.D. Vance has my Complete and Total Endorsement. He will not let you down. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he said.
