Mitt Romney is not a hero. Once the moderate Republican governor of Massachusetts, the billionaire swung hard to the right when he clinched the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, even accepting the endorsement of Donald Trump.
But unlike other high-profile Republicans, Romney has seemingly engaged in some introspection over the last several years. He was the only Republican senator who voted to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial, and is one of the few voices on the right who outwardly condemns the disgraced ex-president for his role on Jan. 6 and other egregious conduct.
The bar might be low, but compared to his Republican colleagues, Romney is a beacon of political courage.
And now he’s spilling the tea.
The 76-year-old isn’t seeking reelection in 2024; and as a result, is no longer hiding his disdain for many in his caucus. Over the last couple of years, Romney has spoken at length with journalist McKay Coppins, who wrote a soon-to-be released biography of the Utah senator.
Coppins published excerpts from his book in The Atlantic, and Romney’s commentary is scathing.
For example, here’s how he describes Mike Pence:
“Romney had long been put off by Pence’s pious brand of Trump sycophancy. No one, he told me, has been “more loyal, more willing to smile when he saw absurdities, more willing to ascribe God’s will to things that were ungodly than Mike Pence.”
Damn, Gina! That’s pretty harsh. Romney’s views on Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz are equally unflattering:
What bothered Romney most about Hawley and his cohort was the oily disingenuousness. “They know better!” he told me. “Josh Hawley is one of the smartest people in the Senate, if not the smartest, and Ted Cruz could give him a run for his money.” They were too smart, Romney believed, to actually think that Trump had won the 2020 election. Hawley and Cruz “were making a calculation,” Romney told me, “that put politics above the interests of liberal democracy and the Constitution.”
When Hawley objected to the election results on Jan. 6 (after rioters stormed Congress and attempted a coup), Romney appeared to be staring right through his soul.
After nearly six years in the Senate, Romney told Coppins he thinks a “very large portion” of the Republican Party “really doesn’t believe in the Constitution.”
That seemingly includes Mitch McConnell, who’s ruled the GOP Senate caucus for years. Romney sent McConnell a text message on Jan. 2, 2021 warning him about the violence that was expected to unravel four days later.
McConnell never responded. The Republican leader didn’t vote to convict Trump in either of his impeachment trials.
Honestly, what an insightful read. I may not agree with Romney on much, policy wise, but there’s no doubt he loves this country. He is a good man at heart.
— John William Smith V (@johnwsmithv) September 14, 2023
Good for him for speaking the truth. I don’t blame him for not running again. I wouldn’t want to be associated with the party either.
— Tyler Cook (@tylercook4) September 13, 2023
Romney says his candor has come with a cost, especially to his safety. He’s been spending $5,000 per day on private security for his family since Jan. 6.
Romney told Coppins one Republican lawmaker said he wanted to vote for Trump’s impeachment, but didn’t so he could protect his family.
Despite two impeachments and four criminal indictments, Trump’s hold on the Republican Party seems greater than ever. Romney doesn’t hold much respect for the next wave of GOP senators, including J.D. Vance, the best-selling author of Hillbilly Elegy who turned into a hardcore MAGA head when he successfully ran for senate last year.
“I don’t know that I can disrespect someone more than J. D. Vance,” Romney told Coppins.
The next Senate GOP lunch should be interesting, huh?
Related*
Whatever you do, do NOT ask Donald Trump about Melania!
It’s a sensitive subject for him.
frapachino
Because we are a better society for “ripping” each other apart! Both sides do I and it’s getting really tiresome.
Rambeaux
He has always been a scumbag and he is going out like a scumbag.
BLAKENOW
Really? It looks lIke you’re the scumbag for writing that misinformed comment. Romney was the only one in the entire Republican Party that voted to impeach trump, THE ONLY ONE.
Fahd
Regarding his comments on Pence, the Mormons have sort of been a model of flexible Christianity themselve (see polygomy and exclusion of people of color and the “revelations” that led to change of policy on those matters) and who financed along with the Roman Catholics the repugnant proposition 8 in California….?
But, nevertheless, Romney I believe does believe in the U.S. constitution, when as he notes to no one’s surprise, a large portion of the Republican party really doesn’t believe in the Constitution. (No sh*t Sherlock).
Thank you Sen Romney for voting to impeach the Count of Monte Crisco. Your votes were a flicker of hope from the cesspool of a political party the Republicans have become.
Given that the other senator from Utah is ultra-rightwing Mike Lee, I wonder if the possibility that Romney would be primaried by candidates to his right factored into his decision to step down.
Finally, I’ll believe it when I see it. I think he can and might change his mind, especially if the Mormon elite, to which he belongs, try to talk him out of stepping down.
P.S. Also, thanks for your public contempt and antipathy towards that pathological lying grifter “Congressperson” from Long Island.
Mister P
Really Rambo? He is a normal and sane republican, which is something rare.
Cruz and Hawley are crackpots who hate America.
Thad
Romney did one exceptional thing; he headed the Winter Olympics that didn’t lose money and was so popular Salt Lake City wants to host another.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
What Mitt is saying is that he has had enough. He has clearly told all of us that Mitch McConnell is just as guilty as Trump by not lifting a finger to do anything about the reports of what was going to happen on January 6th. He is also telling Biden in so many words he needs to step aside and let either Pritzker of Illinois or Newsome of California be the nominee. He also more or less said he (just like myself) has a sinking feeling that if Biden runs against Trump he (Biden) is going to lose. Biden doesn’t seem to understand what $4 per gallon gas prices are doing to people who are lucking if they are getting $20 per hour and have to drive back and forth to work. The percentage of democrats who want someone else on that ticket is over seventy percent. What does that tell you? Mitt is right in singling our people across the aisle who are making the senate more or less a rest home with excellent benefits than a governing body. Why he left Clyburn off of that list of old foggies who need to go is beyond me. I think I am going to read his book because its clear he has a lot to say and this time around it doesn’t ALL seem like b/s.
dbmcvey
I disagree with him on almost everything, I’ve heard horror stories about him from people who worked at the Olympics in Salt Lake, but I will always respect him for voting twice to impeach Trump.
Kangol2
I read the piece by Coppins and my take is that Romney is a traditional, right-wing, elite, multimillionaire Republican, but he is not a batsh!t crazy wacko MAGA cult member, and he realizes how dangerous that psycho fascist Don the Con is, and how principle-free and powerhungry the GOP has become. He is 76, he realizes it would be a huge challenge to win again, since he’d probably be primaried, and since he decided not to run for the presidency on a third party ticket (it’s in the article), he feels free to unburden himself by telling the truth about the GOP.
The man is many things but he isn’t a congenital liar, so I’d say take him at his word and listen to his warnings about his party. They do not believe in the Constitution or US laws in general. They will do anything to stay in power. And then have shown again and again that they’ll blow up the economy, start disastrous wars, attack vulnerable groups (Black people, LGBTQ, immigrants, Muslims, the poor, etc.), you name it, all the while pocketing as much loot as they can and blaming everyone else for the disasters they create. Just keep in mind that under Don the Con, hundreds of thousands of Americans died of Covid-19, in part because, as Romney points out, Don the Con’s response was a total failure. Romney repeatedly notes how Don the Con urged people to drink “bleach”! This is what we’re facing returning to the White House.
I agree with Sister Bertha that Biden probably would do himself, the Democrats, the country, and the GLOBE a favor if he decided to gracefully exit the presidential race. Newsom would galvanize voters and would probably win in a landslide against Don the Con or any of the Republicans. He is fairly liberal as politicians go but course corrects, is a natural showman, knows how to tell a story, and could tout all the positive changes under Biden (there have been many) while looking to the future. Don the Criminal Con has nothing to sell but himself and his sick shtick. It’s very like a losing proposition, again, but why take the chance?
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
You know honey, over the years you and I have had our differences but that notwithstanding I always welcome a voice of reason. The polls in south Carolina have Trump ahead of that woman of color who thinks she’s white and that equally useless ventriloquist dummy of African American descent. Can you believe they, of all people, raised their hand with NO shame whatsoever when asked during the debate would they support Trump were he the nominee? I know Reagan said “thou shall not speak ill of another republican” but if that be the case then why is Reagans name never mentioned anymore?
They are clearly vying for the second spot on a Trump ticket and there is no one out there who can convince me otherwise. Not only do I believe the polls but I am now convinced that with the exception of Christy and Hutchison what we are seeing in the debates are people who are suffering from serious low self esteem and if Trump doesn’t get the nomination it will be either Haley or DeSantis who does, as if they were a better choice. It would not shock me at all that if asked if he would accept the position Pence would do just that even though its clear the intention of those rioters were to kill him so Trump could declare martial law and stay president.
People, this is very scary and we should all be afraid. A four time failed real estate prospector who hosted a scripted reality show that was not going to be renewed for another season but yet convinced half of the GOP that he should be president and they put him in office after he shouted down sixteen established politicians? Its just too hard to believe that over three quarters of the GOP have made it clear they have the reasoning mentality of a rusted out trailer park residing mob who cant or wont
see the horrifying consequences of putting him back in office but thats just what the reality of the matter is and might become. What’s even worse is I no longer see Joe Biden as a better alternative. The man is simply too old and if Kamala Harris gets in office I dont see how things are going to get better. Every time I see Biden walking toward that helicopter he appears to be walking with the gate of a man who is days away from needing a wheelchair. It just doesn’t look steady. He no longer holds meetings with anyone before 10am. Reagan did the same thing and he was younger than Biden is when it was becoming clear he couldn’t handle the workload of a president of a country.
When Wall Street talks of profits for airlines, hotels and the over all economy I dont believe it because more people are money that they dont have. It’s because things have risen to make up the difference. Property taxes have gotten so high to where a well to do subdivision in my area passed a law where if you are sixty-two or older your property taxes are frozen until you sell the house or pass away. I went to my first city council meeting back in January and could not believe how many people were there doing the same thing I was, complaining about how damn high those property tax increases were. Honey I do mean they practically pulled a pistol on us and robbed us. Numerous people were escorted from the podium because of four letter word they began using.
We can not continue with the working class paying half of what’s left out of their paychecks (after paying bills) because regular gas is over $4 per gallon (yes kiddies, it has risen again and truck drivers going out of business because of fright rates and sky high diesel prices at over $5 per gallon). In California fuel prices start at $6 a gallon, damn the cost of living.
Things are going to change but they are not going to change for the better. Trump ran up the deficit but no one seems to notice that and I’ll be damned if he isn’t poised to become the next president. Laugh all you want and call me a ranting lunatic if you so desire but I ask this question. Who amongst us seriously thought he would win back in 2016? I am wondering if its possible that some how the population has been placed under a mass hypnosis or could the reality of the matter be this is the end result when leaders were not groomed to take over because the old octogenarians in congress refused to leave. Romney has some valid points that should not go ignored.
abfab
Sister. What’s wrong with wheel chairs? All sorts of people do all sorts of jobs from wheel chairs. Put Biden in a wheel chair! He won’t be the first President to work from a wheel chair.
It’s pretty insulting to use the wheel chair in your overly lengthy rant. May you never need a wheel chair. And Bertha…have you ever walked up to and into a helicopter like the one you see him wobbling towards? Try it, and then get back to us.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
@abfab………………Why do I just NOT feel as though you put me in my place with your comment?
Kangol2
@Bertha, yes, I do hear you. One of the major issues we’re facing is that we have one party that basically has ceased to be a conservative party and has instead become a fascist one, and a second party that is essentially a center-left party that seems incapable of grasping what it is dealing with. It’s not unlike Weimar Germany, despite the differences, and we know how that turned out. The GOP, already infected by Don the Con and the Q-Anon crowd, is now shedding many of its last reasonable members, including people like Romney. He is hardly moderate by any measure, but as we have witnessed, he does believe for the most part in the Constitution and the rule of law.
In the entire history of the United States we never had a president lose an election and then foment a coup, no matter how bitter the contest, but we witnessed that in 2021, after Don the Con repeatedly told us–American voters, the US media, the globe, etc.–that he was not going to obey the election outcome if he lost. (We also never had a US president who had such close ties and links to a hostile foreign power as Don the Con did with Russia, including lying about his Trump Tower Moscow plans, but he got Bill Barr to wipe all that away and the US media went right along with it.) Why everyone did not take Don the Con seriously as cancer after he slipped into office in 2016 and began creating daily chaos is beyond me; I don’t even think Romney took him seriously until it was too late.
We are now in unprecedented territory. We have millions of people who have become pod people. They will do whatever Don the Con tells them. He can switch his positions on a dime and they’ll follow. The fact that he has been committing crimes nonstop and getting away with it doesn’t damage him, it excites and encourages them. Today I read that UAW workers were saying that “Trump” was the only one would cared about “autoworkers,” even though Barack Obama SAVED the auto industry (does no one else remember this?) and was attacked for doing so, Don the Con did zero for Big Labor and the auto industry, and today basically called the UAW head a fool for striking, basically saying that China was going to win the race for electric cars! This despite the fact that Biden signed on billions to boost electric car development and production and charging stations, etc. It defies logic but it’s like the Democrats cannot grasp what we’re facing and the GOP, as we’ve seen, don’t care. They’ll just carve up everything for the super-rich as always if they get power.
I agree about Biden’s fragility. A president in a wheelchair wouldn’t bother me, but it would reinforce for millions of people, including Democrats, that the president was infirm and not capable of handling his duties. He already seems too foggy at times and that constant squinting doesn’t help, but he has put forward many positive policies. As I said, he’s incapable of selling any of the positive things he’s done, though. It’s tragic to watch.
Last point: the inflation you’re describing is horrible. Inflation has actually gone down, but as you point out, gas prices are up again (Saudi Arabia cut production, as did Russia, to punish the US), there are more jobs than there are Americans (driving wages higher, but also spurring inflation), US corporations and every sector of the economy has raised prices and keeps them high (the auto industry has had record profits), property taxes are up all over, and while the interest rates are meant to drive down inflation, they’re having a devastating effect on regular people. Yet again, Biden isn’t to blame for all of this, but the reality is, he has been incapable of explaining any of it. He has no surrogates. The Democrats in general are MIA. Where is leading members of the US Senate? The House other than the squad? Anyone in the administration? Meanwhile, the person who brought us to this point, the disaster Don the Con, blathered endlessly about his fake economic successes, and tons of people bought into it. He left a mess, just like George W. Bush, but if you don’t provide a consistent counter story, the loudmouth, however wacko, will convince people instead. Anyways, as things stand, the gun is to our head and the hourglass is running down.
abfab
@Sister…you[re just another ageist with zero compassion for those who are in your view, handicapped and need to be put out to pasture. We have several of you people here…..VOTE PENCE and then figure it our for yourself. Your words speak volumes but dont get you or anyone else anywhere. It’s just more repetative bullshit.
Biden is not ready for the wheel chair. Shame on you for suggesting that.
Mister P
Yeah. I guess a lot of voters are stupid enough to believe the president sets the price of gas and Biden raised it just to be a jerk.
nm4047
retiring to make way for another old white man?
BLAKENOW
There are plenty of other republican monsters that are non-white and old.
dbmcvey
It’s Utah. It’ll be a middle aged white man.
Kangol2
@nm4047, it probably would be a younger White far-right nut like Mike Lee. I remember when he got elected and after hearing him on TV my first thought was, this man is nutso. He hasn’t proved me wrong, and there’s many more like him running around Utah.
bachy
I’d been naively hoping for some time that Romney’s influence would bring the GOP to some ethical modus operandi, but that ship has sailed. Especially considering the news that he’s been spending $5,000 per day on private security for his family since Jan. 6? Madness. The party is simply taken over by cultish criminals, led by a powerful mafia-style Don.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, kids.
abfab
$ 1,825,000.00/year