Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) has become one of the loudest voices against President Donald Trump.
During town halls in Utah, Romney has asked voters if he’s too tough on Trump. About half of them say yes.
From USA Today:
Romney told USA TODAY that during a series of town halls in heavily Republican Utah, he asked constituents for their own views on his criticisms of Trump over Ukraine, Syria and other matters.“How many of you in the room think I’m being too tough on the president?” he asked as about half of those in the audience raised their hands. “And how many think I’m not being tough enough?” leading the other half to do so.Romney said he didn’t conduct the impromptu poll because he was having second thoughts about voicing his opinions, but, instead, to show constituents that they can respectfully disagree with one another.“People tend to associate with people of like mind, and they assume everyone thinks the way they do,” he said. “And so, our town hall meetings have been quite civil.”
Trump demolished failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Utah during the 2016 election.
Trump won the state 45% to Clinton’s 27.2%. She only won Salt Lake and Summit counties.
But there is more to this. NBC News wrote that Romney’s harsh criticisms of Trump has not inspired his colleagues to join him, which has caused some to wonder if he has other motives:
Rather, it has renewed speculation among GOP critics in Washington and in Utah that Romney has ulterior motives — jealousy, retribution, Oval Office ambition or some potent mix of all three. After all, Romney ran for president twice and lost before Trump won the job, and then Trump made him publicly audition for secretary of state before passing him over.And there’s reason for speculation that Romney might still have designs on a job his father ran for more than half a century ago. Even as he has angered Republican senators in Washington and activists at home, he is one of the few in the GOP with the national name-ID and fundraising prowess to mount a serious campaign for the presidency on an abbreviated timeline.
Romney’s attitude has won him admirers in the media who once took every opportunity to bash him in 2012 during his presidential run.
It’s a little different with Democratic lawmakers. They view him “as ineffectual because he has stopped short of calling for Trump’s impeachment and removal from office.”
I doubt Romney’s comments on Trump will harm his chances at re-election, but it is an eye-opener to how everyday Americans view Trump.
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