U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney on Tuesday accused fellow Republicans of fomenting political division by perpetuating the myth that massive voter fraud denied Donald Trump reelection, and said unity will be difficult to achieve without acknowledging Democratic President Joe Biden won a fair contest.
Romney, in a livestreamed interview with Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar on behalf of the Economic Club of Chicago, also said he shared hopes that the Jan. 6 uprising at the nation’s capital might lead to more bipartisanship but said there’s been no sign of any change in rhetoric.
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Romney acknowledged there were already divisions within the Republican Party when he ran as the GOP candidate in 2012 against then President Barack Obama, but said they have only grown stronger.
“There’s no question but that I was not the ideal fit with the Republican Party at that time (of the presidential bid), nor am I the ideal fit today with the Republican Party,” said Romney, elected as a senator from Utah in 2018.
Romney said his 2012 campaign strategist told him he would have to work even harder to get the nomination because the GOP had become more Evangelical, while he was a Mormon, more populist, while he was a millionaire, and more conservative, while he was a moderate.
Romney, voted to convict Trump in the former president’s first Senate impeachment trial last year, and will be a juror in the upcoming trial in which Trump is accused of insurrection for allegedly encouraging the violent attempt by his supporters to take over the nation’s Capitol.
The senator said he believed the impact of social media in stoking unrest over the election would have been dampened if Republicans had pronounced Biden the rightful victor.
“In addition to social media perpetuating the big lie, if you will, that somehow Donald Trump is still president and Joseph Biden stole the election, you have many Trump supporters in elected office — senators, congresspeople, governors — continuing to say the same thing, that the election was stolen,” he said.
“If each of us, elected Republicans, went out and jf we went on Fox (News) … saying, ‘You know what? I was a big Trump supporter. I was really pulling for Donald Trump. But you know what? He lost fair and square,’ ” Romney said. “If that were happening, I think the impact of social media would be less.”
Romney dismissed complaints from other Republicans that proceeding with a second Trump impeachment trial would only serve to fan anger and division.
“Have you gone out publicly and said that there was not widespread voter fraud and that Joe Biden is the legitimate president of the United States? If you said that, then I’m happy to listen to you talk about other things that might inflame anger and divide. But if you haven’t said that, that’s really what’s at the source of the anger right now,” Romney said. “You’ve got to have that get to the rearview mirror before you talk about the next stage” toward unity.
“Justice being carried out is something which the American people expect,” Romney said of the second impeachment.
“There’s no question but that the president incited the insurrection that occurred. To what degree and so forth is something we’re going to evaluate in the trial that will proceed,” he said. “But to simply say, ‘Well, we’re gonna just move on because we need to be united’ would not be, I think, consistent with the history of justice as applied in our country. And I believe it’s an element of unity, which I look forward to having resolved, so that we can move on.”
Romney acknowledged that political self interest was at play among some of his colleagues, particularly those considering a bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination who want to appeal to Trump’s base.
“(Arkansas Sen.) Tom Cotton, (former U.N. Ambassador) Nikki Haley, (Florida Sen.) Marco Rubio, (Missouri Sen.) Josh Hawley — I don’t hear them speaking in terms of moderation but instead continuing the same rhetoric as in the past,” Romney said.
On a more optimistic note, he said he expects with the country facing the challenges of COVID-19 and vaccine distribution, pandemic relief funding, growing debt, climate change and a more powerful China, “we’ll be able to get work done.”
“But I think the rhetoric is probably not going to change a lot,” he said.
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In a sane world where it is acknowledged that seven states failed to conduct a valid election and the constitution was then followed, yes Trump is the president and we would not have to put up with Biden.
And Utah, please relieve us of the misery of hearing this putz named Romney!
You just KNOW< he'd move to a different state, and re-run for office… AND WITH HIS "Name recognition", there's a good chance the putz would win.
He should just Shut up.
If it is a myth, prove it. There is ZERO reason to not have a hand count of who got what votes on ballots in the Battleground States TO PROVE OR DISPROVE VOTER FRAUD AND IRREGULARITIES WITH THE RESULTS–INSTEAD OF WITH MEDIA AND DEMOCRAT “TRUST ME” UNPROVEN CLAIMS. Except to bury it. Why else are Deep State Democrats and Rinos like Romney pushing so hard without any audit that it is a myth? Who believes ANY of them or their media? Don’t let this stay buried!!! Demand a hand recount of the ballots that must be preserved for 22 months per Federal law.
I have so many insults I would like to throw against the RINO puke Romney, but i have to hold back, not good for you all or me. Rather than kiss the collective ***** of the DemoRats and RINOs, we need to get ourselves organized to take back the house and senate in 2022. Stress election reform, fair elections, and overturning the commie Biden agenda.
Romney is a member of the political elites, his family is involved in the same sort of stuff as Biden’s and Pelosi’s. Is there no one in Utah who is an actual Republican who could run against him and take him out of the political arena?
Romney is a myth created from cloth hole.
“…unity will be difficult to achieve without acknowledging Democratic President Joe Biden won a fair contest.”
Well, to hell with unity then. Only fools want to “unify” under destructive policies. Heck, we can’t even unify on the subject of legal citizenship. As a FREEDOM loving individual Romney’s statements make my skin crawl.
And that was a typical Democrat election “win” but it certainly was NOT democratic.
What about the myth of Climate Change, Mitt?
Man… will someone there in Washington D.C. please sit this guy down and show him the evidence already?!?
He’s so demented, EVEN WITH showing him all the evidence, he’s STILL NOT going to ever acknowledge, the election was fraudulent.
Any which way “mittens” can get defeated at the next election is important. If it includes cheating whatever way, is ok, as long as the end result is that he loses. Utah is supposed to be a Republican state, so if someone much better then “mittens” runs against him, that person is the one they must vote for.
No one can look at the evidence and conclude anything other than the Democrats stole the election. I suggest you look at the evidence or stop lying. There is no other possibility.
THEY First have to LOOK at the evidence.. SOMETHING LIBTARDS like Romney, Never will..
How long are we going to be forced to suffer with this reject. He lost a presidential election because he had no backbone and was even farther left than Bush. His only claim to fame is throwing conservatives under the bus, just ask the voters in Massachusetts if he was even slightly right wing. So what’s his job in Washington, obviously not to represent the people of Utah, but to get revenge against the guy who made him look like the idiot he is, and that is Donald Trump.
Mitt enjoy your time as a senator from Utah. Don’t think about going back and try it again. Not only the Mormons but the non mormons don’t want anything to do with you. You arrived in Utah wanting to be their senator, but as soon as you won, you got t he next plane to Mass. and never returned.
Mitt,just stick it
Sen Romney, do you not realize YOU are causing a rift within your own party? I also noticed that your niece, the head of the RNC “stands neutral” for Donald Trump. Is ANY Democrat “standing neutral”? We need to stick together and fight like there’s no tomorrow…because the way things are going, there will be no tomorrow. I wonder how your constituents feel about your support of the activities taken against the former president. If the shoe were on the other foot, you can bet (oh it is, look at Swalwell), you can see all the Dems standing to. Why can’t Republicans take a lesson, or do they (you) love getting whipped? It is very frustrating for this citizen.
His neice?? Didn’t know he had kin in congress.
Tell me — who has ever voted for this nincompoop!!!
As if a few Republicans mouthing the New Party Line about election fraud will change the minds of millions of independent, critical-thinking citizens.
Leftists always make the mistake of projecting the GroupThink tendency of their own “subjects” onto the citizens who support their opponents. When a prominent Republican politician starts parroting the election-fraud equivalent of, “…we loved it…it was much better than Cats…we’ll see it again, and again…”, we don’t start obediently repeating it; we identify it as corruption and respond accordingly.
I have something for “Mittens” to ponder. Regardless of which way the Impeachment “Trial” goes, when they try to censure Trump for incitement of insurrection for “Telling Lies” about the election and so forth, doesn’t that open the door for whatever evidence that has been gathered of election fraud the Trump legal team and others have gathered to be openly presented at the proceedings?
I highly doubt it.. IN fact, i fear they will do all they can, to SILENCE ANY effort to show ANY evidence of the fraud that DID GO ON, any and everywhere possible.
Utah voters out there, I hope you see the light. We’ve been gob-smacked by this fake Republican. He’s lost all sense of logic and has cast himself as
“establishment elite” and is desperate to keep it that way. He and Liz Cheney need a real “come-uppance” moment. Primary them both OUT.
Romney is spreading the myth he has a brain and that he cares about the welfare of American and its citizens.
//rumble.com/vdlfht-absolute-proof-mike-lindells-2020-election-fraud-documentary.html
We need President Trump in front of a judge and swear him in for his second term. Them have Trump federalize the national guard troops in the D.C. capital district and order them to not let anyone in or out. Put Mike Lindal’s film in front of the supreme court justices and demand a ruling. Then take into custody the Biden’s, all Biden cabinet members, and The leadership of both parties. Get warrants issued for the secretaries of state for PA, MI, WI, NV, AZ, GA, and others. Negate everything Biden has done since 11:50 AM on the twentieth of January to the present.
And last Get our president back to Washington DC where he needs to be.
STUFF THIS IN YOUR EAR FOOL.