Mitt Romney admits Trump will likely be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024 if he runs and calls him the “party leader” — though he admits he wouldn’t vote for him
- “It’s hard to imagine that his support could derail,” Romney said
- “So if he wants to be the candidate for 24, I think he’s very likely to achieve that.”
- “He’s the leader of the party, that’s clear… If he decides to run, he’s going to be the nominee,” Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said
- Comments come after Trump-backed JD Vance won the Ohio GOP primary
Senator Mitt Romney predicts Trump will be the GOP’s nominee in 2024 if he runs.
The Utah Republican, who twice voted to impeach former President Donald Trump, made the statement after Trump-backed candidate JD Vance won the Ohio Republican primary for the Senate.
He will replace Senator Rob Portman, a more conventional establishment Republican who nonetheless immediately threw his support behind Vance after Tuesday’s win.
“I don’t fool myself into thinking that I’m a big part of the Republican Party,” said Romney, who was the party’s presidential nominee in 2012 and was defeated by President Barack Obama.
“It’s hard to imagine anything derailing his support,” he said in comments reported by Axios. “So if he wants to be nominated at 24, I think he’s very likely to get that,” Romney said.
“He’s the leader of the party, that’s clear… If he decides to run, he’ll be the candidate,” Romney said.
Utah Senator Mitt Romney is one of the few Republicans in the Senate who has been willing to take on former President Donald Trump. He called Trump “the leader of the party” and said, “If he decides to run, he will be the candidate.”
Romeny’s statements are hardly off the mainstream for political observers.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll this week found that 60 percent of Republicans and GOP-affiliated independents think Republican leaders should follow Trump, with just 34 percent saying they should lead the party in a different direction. That comes from a poll in which an overall majority of 52 percent said Trump should be indicted for crimes on Jan. 6.
There have been other demonstrations of Trump’s power through his influence in the primary and in the way other leading Republicans have caved in to him.
Trump through his support for Vance in the three-way primary, and his son Donald Trump Jr. fought with Vance. Tech investor Peter Thiel, who is close to Trump, has put millions into the race.
Trump has used his influence in primaries to seek to bring down opponents within the GOP
Romney’s comments come a day after Trump-backed JD Vance won the Ohio Republican primary for Senate
“If he decides to run, he will be the nominee,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said of Trump
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is on tape two days after Jan. 6 speaking about using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. McCarthy said it was taking too long
Vance has repeatedly praised Trump, having condemned him in the past, and chronicled his attacks on government officials, whom he described as “corrupt.”
Immediately following his victory, Portman, who had supported rival Jane Timken, said he supported Vance’s re-election.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) concurred with Romney, who was photographed raising his fist at protesters outside the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“He’s the leader of the party, that’s clear… If he decides to run, he’ll be the candidate,” he said, Politico reported. Hawley himself is considered a potential presidential candidate.
Romney said last year he wouldn’t vote for Trump if he were the GOP nominee.
But the Senate Minority Leader said in February he would “absolutely” support Trump if he were the nominee.
This came despite McConnell accusing Trump of “disgraceful dereliction of duty” on Jan. 6.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden called MAGA “the most extreme political organization in American history,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden will continue to crack down on them across the country in the coming weeks.
