OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Two-time presidential loser Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who is retiring at the end of his current term, has delivered one last blow to Donald Trump, the leading 2024 GOP contender, in their ongoing feud since the 45th president passed him up to become secretary of state in 2016.
In an interview last week with CNN, Romney strongly indicated he would support President Joe Biden over Trump, the man who passed on him to be secretary of state.
Anchor Kaitlan Collins asked, “Would you vote for Donald Trump over Joe Biden?”
Romney said, “No, no, no, absolutely not.”
“For me, there are two factors for deciding who I want to have as the leader of my country, and the person who is the example of the president for my kids, my grandkids. One is their position and policies. And on foreign policy, I’m not aligned with Donald Trump, at least as I understand his policy and domestic policy. Yeah, I’m aligned with many of his domestic policies,” Romney continued.
“But there’s another dimension besides policy, and that’s character. And I think what America is as a nation, what has allowed us to be the most powerful nation on earth and the leader of the earth, is the character of the people who have been our leaders and past presidents. But also mothers, fathers, church leaders, university presidents, and so forth. Having a president who is so defaulted on character would have an enormous impact on the character of America. And for me, that’s the primary consideration,” Romney continued.
WATCH:
CNN: Would you vote for Trump over Biden?
ROMNEY: No, no, no. Absolutely not.Good riddance to this RINO. pic.twitter.com/HsyxYAC6Ka
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) February 29, 2024
In July 2023, as Trump geared up for a third White House bid, Romney wrote in The Wall Street Journal that GOP donors should pull funding from a myriad of 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls and concentrate their efforts on backing a single candidate who could then run successfully against Trump for the nomination.
In the op-ed, which is titled, “Donors, Don’t Fund a Trump Plurality,” and subtitled, “As in 2016, Republican candidates won’t drop out soon enough. Here’s how to give them a push,” he outlined his strategy.
“Despite Donald Trump’s apparent inevitability, a baker’s dozen Republicans are hoping to become the party’s 2024 nominee for president. That is possible for any of them if the field narrows to a two-person race before Mr. Trump has the nomination sewn up,” Romney’s column begins.
“For that to happen, Republican megadonors and influencers—large and small—are going to have to do something they didn’t do in 2016: get candidates they support to agree to withdraw if and when their paths to the nomination are effectively closed. That decision day should be no later than, say, Feb. 26, the Monday following the contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina,” he added.
Romney went on to say that “no-hope candidates” often have incentives to prolong their campaigns. Even if they come in behind the first-place candidate, it can set the stage for another run in the future or may lead to lucrative opportunities, as seen with Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum.
He then quoted former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu: “It is fun running for president if you know you cannot win.”
“Left to their own inclinations, expect several of the contenders to stay in the race for a long time. They will split the non-Trump vote, giving him the prize. A plurality is all that is needed for winner-take-all primaries,” Romney wrote.
Concluding, Romney said: “Our party and our country need a nominee with character, driven by something greater than revenge and ego, preferably from the next generation. Family, friends and campaign donors are the only people who can get a lost-cause candidate to exit the race. After Feb. 26, they should start doing just that.”
