Two days before 71-year-old Mitt Romney replaces retiring seven-term Sen. Oren Hatch (R-Ut.), he pens an op-ed in the left-leaning Washington Post defaming 72-year-old President Donald Trump. Romney had no problems accepting Trump’s endorsement for Hatch’s seat last June, waiting only two days before starting as the junior senator from Utah denouncing Trump. “Here we go with Mitt Romney, but so fast! Question will be, is he a Flake? Trump tweeted, referring to retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), one of Trump’s biggest critics on Capitol Hill. “I hope not. Would much prefer that Mitt focus on Border Security and so many other things where he can be helpful. I won big, and he didn’t. He should be happy for all Republicans. Be a TEAM player & WIN,” Trump tweeted, urging Romney to bite his tongue and contain any latent presidential ambitions for 2020.
Publishing anything and everything negative about Trump, the Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com-owned Washington Post, leads the anti-Trump rhetoric in U.S. newspapers. Romney’s critique makes headlines, just like it did when Trump ran for president in 2016. Romney was among Trump’s most vicious critics. “Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud,” Mitt said March 3, 2016. “His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University,” said Romney, referring to the now defunct real estate institute bearing Trump’s name Trump. of course, has infuriated the mainstream press actually following through with most, if not all, of his campaign promises, including building the infamous border wall. Why Romney chooses to denounce Trump only two days before joining the U.S. Senate is anyone’s guess. Most speculate about his desire to run against for president.
Expressing her displeasure, the Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee Ronna Romney McDaniel, Mitt’s niece, didn’t hesitate to put her uncle on notice. “POTUS is attacked and obstructed by the MSM [mainstream media] and Democrats 24/7,” Ronna wrote. “For an incoming Republican freshman senator to attack @realDonaldTrump as their first act feeds into what the Democrats and media want and is disappointing and unproductive,” expressing dismay at Romney’s comments. Romney’s only motive would be a potential 2020 mutiny where several “never Trumpers” challenge the president for the Republican nomination, including Flake, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and possibly Mitt. Romney’s banking on Special Counsel Robert Mulller’s final report making it impossible for Trump to run again. Regardless of the motives, it shows Mitt’s poor judgment.
Romney’s op-ed in the Post shows how he’s easily manipulated to make headlines, grab whatever publicity he can. Like Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Az.), Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and the late Sen. John McCain (R-Az.), Trump elicits strong reactions from GOP senators. “With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of characters is indispensable,” Romney wrote in the Post. “And it is in the province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring,” mirroring the Post’s editorial board, uniformly against Trump. For Romney to sell out that quickly shows bad judgment as stated by RNC’s Ronna McDaniel. No Republican, now or in 2030, could possibly back Romney for a primary run against Trump when he’s running down the president for selfish reasons. Romney’s remarks have already backfired, raising eyebrows in Republican circles.
Whatever differences GOP leaders have with Trump, there’s a way to air those differences at the right time-and-place. No one expressed bigger differences with Trump over his decision to withdraw U.S. advisers from Syria more than Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Instead of denouncing Trump to the press, Graham met with Trump in the White House Dec. 31 to express his views. When he came out of the meeting, Graham expressed relief and better understanding of Trump’s decision. Graham’s been one of Trump’s biggest critics but has learned the president’s receptive to opinions that disagree with his own. Mitt’s differences with Trump have more to do with future political ambitions than anything related to current headlines, including the government shutdown over border wall funding with Democrats. Romney’s acerbic remarks only make him look petty and self-serving.
Finding himself sucked into the anti-Trump media, Romney should pause before it hurts himself and his home state. Getting Trump’s endorsement when he ran-and-lost in 2012 to former President Barack Obama and when he decided to takeover Hatch’s Utah senate seat last June, Romney shows no gratitude for Trump’s endorsement, only leftover vitriol from losing a bitter presidential campaign to Obama. “Mitt is tough, he’s smart, he’s sharp, he’s not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this counter that we all love,” Trump said after endorsing Romney in 2012. Whether Mitt has lingering hostility toward Trump is anyone’s guess. What’s clear is that his recent words do nothing for his political future or people of Utah. Letting himself get sucked into the Post’s vendetta with Trump shows that Mitt lacks the political savvy to know what’s good for his future.
