Topline
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) predicted that former President Donald Trump has “authoritarian rulings . . . which he will try to impose” if he is elected again, criticizing Trump for what he described as a tendency to speak recklessly and without a “filter,” Romney said Sunday.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) answers questions in his office after announcing he will not seek … [+] re-election on September 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. Romney Called for a “new generation of leaders” while also criticizing both U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. President Donald Trump. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Romney called Trump a “human gumball machine,” in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, referring to his habit of speaking without a filter: “He just says whatever. I don’t attach an enormous amount of impact to the particular words that come out,” Romney said.
Romney also warned against Trump’s “authoritarian rulings and interests and notions” and predicted Trump “will impose his will if he can on the judicial system, on the legislative branch and on the entire nation.”
Romney, who twice voted to remove Trump from office, left open the possibility that he could vote for President Joe Biden next year, telling NBC’s Kristen Welker, “I’m not going to describe who I’ll rule out other than President Trump.”
The comments come after Romney announced in September he will retire from the Senate at the end of his term next year, following repeated ideological breaks with his party, including his long-time criticism of Trump.
Tangent
Romney also criticized the Republican-led impeachment probe of President Joe Biden, telling NBC he would vote against it if he were in the House. Republicans should have found evidence Biden engaged in wrongdoing before opening a probe, Romney said, suggesting that the GOP’s focus on Biden’s family is misguided. “We are not responsible for the misdeeds of our kids and grandkids and great grandkids,” he said, adding that Biden’s son, Hunter Biden “has obviously been a very unsavory person and has had some extremely damaging personal foibles,” an apparent reference to the younger Biden’s drug addiction.
Key Background
Romney’s comments come as Trump’s rhetoric has become increasingly inflammatory, prompting comparisons with dictators, including Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Trump on Saturday doubled down on his recent comments that he would not be a dictator “except for day one,” explaining to a crowd at a New York Young Republicans event in Manhattan that he wants “to be a dictator for one day . . .because I want a wall, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
What To Watch For
Republicans are expected to vote whether to formalize its months-long probe examining whether Biden personally benefitted from or used his influence to aid his family’s business dealings. On Thursday, Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) introduced a resolution that would make the probe official, accusing Biden of engineering policy decisions during his time as vice president in order to further his own financial interests.
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