Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) predicted on Tuesday that ex-President Donald Trump, impeached last month for inciting the assault on the Capitol last month, would likely be the GOP’s contender for the presidency again if he were to launch a bid in 2024.
During a discussion at the DealBook DC Policy Project, Romney said that while he didn’t know whether Trump was indeed planning to run again, he was “pretty sure” the twice-impeached former president would win the nomination if he did.
“I look at the polls, and the polls show that among the names being floated as potential contenders in 2024, if you put President Trump in there among Republicans, he wins in a landslide,” the Utah senator said, also noting that Trump “has by far the largest voice and a big impact in my party.”
Romney, who voted to convict Trump in both Senate impeachment trials, stated that he would not vote for the ex-president.
“I haven’t voted for him in the past,” the lawmaker said. “And I would probably be getting behind somebody who I thought more represented the tiny wing of the Republican Party that I represent.”
Romney bore the brunt of Trump’s fury at Republican “Never Trumpers” for years for daring to criticize him and eventually siding with Democrats to have him removed from office twice: Once last year for abuse of power in the Ukraine scandal, and the other last week for incitement of insurrection.
Despite Trump fomenting a violent siege of the Capitol that caused five deaths, most of the Republican Party remains loyal to their former leader and have refused to blame him for the insurrection. All but ten House Republicans voted against impeachment in January, and 43 GOP senators acquitted Trump in the trial.
Additionally, Republican leaders like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) have visited Trump at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
