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“Given that in neither the case of the father nor the son, was any evidence presented by the president’s counsel that a crime had been committed, the president’s insistence that they investigated by the Ukrainians is hard to explain other than as a political pursuit. There’s no question in my mind that were their names not Biden the president would never have done what he did,” he said.
Addressing the president’s defense, he said, “The defense argues that the Senate should leave the impeachment decision to the voters. Well, that logic is appealing to our democratic instincts, it is inconsistent with the constitution’s requirement that the Senate, not the voters try the president.”
“The grave question the Constitution tasked senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor. Yes, he did. The president asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival. The president withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so. The president delayed funds for an American ally at war with Russian invaders. The president’s purpose was personal and political,” Romney said.
Romney said that he expects to be denounced by his Republican colleagues for his vote to convict, but asked the chamber, “Does anyone seriously believe that I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it?”
Opinionmitt Romney: The President Shapes The Public Character Of The Nation Trumps Character Falls Short
Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah and the partys 2012 nominee for president, will be sworn into the U.S. Senate on Thursday.
The Trump presidency made a deep descent in December. The departures of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John F.Kelly, the appointment of senior persons of lesser experience, the abandonment of allies who fight beside us, and the presidents thoughtless claim that America has long been a sucker in world affairs all defined his presidency down.
It is well known that Donald Trump was not my choice for the Republican presidential nomination. After he became the nominee, I hoped his campaign would refrain from resentment and name-calling. It did not. When he won the election, I hoped he would rise to the occasion. His early appointments of Rex Tillerson, Jeff Sessions, Nikki Haley, Gary Cohn, H.R. McMaster, Kelly and Mattis were encouraging. But, on balance, his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions last month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office.
The world needs American leadership, and it is in Americas interest to provide it. A world led by authoritarian regimes is a world and an America with less prosperity, less freedom, less peace.
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Donald Trump Interviewed Mitt Romney To Torture Him Roger Stone Says
Spencer Platt/Getty
Donald Trumps long-time but informal adviser Roger Stone says the Secretary of State job was dangled in front of Mitt Romney in order to torture him for previously opposing the president-elect.
During a Sunday appearance on InfoWars with Alex Jones, a conspiratorial media outlet that has become a mouthpiece of the next president, Stone called Romney a choker and said that Trump was simply toying with him.
Donald Trump was interviewing Mitt Romney for Secretary of State in order to torture him, Stone claimed on the program. To toy with him. And given the history, thats completely understandable. Mitt Romney crossed a line. He didnt just oppose Trump, which is his democratic right, he called him a phony and a fraud. And a con man. And thats not the kind of man you want as Secretary of State.
Stones involvement with the current transition efforts is unclear as he is not formally advising Trump. But the two men have kept a close relationship for years and Stone claims that he was at Trump Tower last week. The transition team did not respond to a request for confirmation about his presence from The Daily Beast.
Well, you know Trump correctly said he was a choker, Stone said in the interview, and at the key moment in the campaign against Barack Obama he choked. Donald Trump is not a choker, in fact, hes a scratch golfer. So in this particular case, Trump did what Romney couldnt.
It all depends on who has Trumps ear last.
READ THIS LIST
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Trumps Impeachment Revenge List Starts With Mitt Romney
With impeachment over, Trump is fully embracing grievance politics as he heads into 2020.
President Donald Trump had shown uncharacteristic control toward Mitt Romney during the impeachment process. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images
There were, initially, prepared remarks.
But they were scrapped sometime after the Senate acquitted Donald Trump. Instead, it was decided the president should just say what he wanted when he strode up to the lectern in the East Room of the White House shortly after noon on Thursday.
Given a blank slate, Trump chose revenge. An eye for an eye, a tweet for a tweet, a vote for a vote. And instead of plotting with whispers behind closed doors, Trump broadcast his intentions to the world in a celebration filled with film noir phrases dirty cops, evil, liars.
It was a brazen, albeit not unexpected, move. And it signals how the president may enter campaign season, feeling that he is finally clear of the plots arrayed against him and ready to ditch any remaining veneer of restraint. Unleashed was how one White House official described the president. The politics of grievance have, once again, defeated the White House aides who wish Trump would stick to the economy.
First on Trumps election-year hit list: Mitt Romney.
Trump felt particularly aggrieved by Romneys sole GOP vote to boot him from the White House, according to a Republican familiar with the White House and a senior administration official.
Trump felt hoodwinked. And it showed.
Trump After Hearing Romney Is In Self
Romneys in isolation? Trump said during the daily White House briefing after being asked about the senators in isolation.
Gee, thats too bad, the president added.
Randal Howard PaulFauci overwhelmed by calls after journal published mistake over beagle experimentsMcConnell looks for way out of debt ceiling boxSenators make bipartisan push to block 0M weapons sale to SaudisMORE announced he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Trump and Romney have clashed on numerous occasions.
Trump has criticized Romney repeatedly in recent months after the Utah senator was the only Senate Republican to break from his party and vote with Democrats to convict Trump on a charge of abuse of power following Trumps Senate impeachment trial.
Paul is the first senator to announce he tested positive for COVID-19.
Trump told reporters its been a long time since he had in-person contact with Paul.
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Mitt Romney Says A Trump Reelection Could Shake Up Nato Order
Sen. Mitt Romney warned that a second term with Donald Trump as president could upend the NATO alliance.
I think if President Trump were to return as president that the nations of the world would say that they really have to rethink their own national security and the extent to which they want to be aligned with us and instead be aligned with someone else, Romney told Kasie Hunt in an interview for CNN+ released Tuesday.
NEWS: @MittRomney tells me NATO would be permanently damaged if Trump is elected president againOur allies would rethink whether they can count on the United States to lead NATO and defend other nations. @CNNplus@NewDay
Kasie Hunt
Asked if Trump permanently damaged NATO, Romney one of the few prominent Republicans willing to speak against Trump said the former presidents America-first approach frightens other members.
As president, Trump criticized NATO allies for spending too little on defense and cut the U.S. contribution to NATOs collective budget from 22% to about 16% in 2019, according to CNN. The U.S. spent 3.7% of its GDP on defense in 2020, topping all 29 other countries that belong to the alliance, according to the BBC.
John Bolton, a former national security adviser to Trump, told The Washington Post earlier this month that Russian President Vladimir Putin expected Trump to withdraw from NATO if he had won a second term in office.
Trump, 75, hasnt declared himself a 2024 presidential candidate, but has repeatedly teased a comeback.
Romneys Recent Tension With President Trump
Its no secret. Senator Romney and President Trump havent always agreed on policy and leadership. Romney has been increasingly vocal about the presidents politics, even voting for his impeachment in 2019.
However, most recently, Romney has spoken out against President Trumps rhetoric surrounding the upcoming election and elected representatives.
The president calls the Democratic vice president a monster he repeatedly labels the speaker of the House crazy he calls for the Justice Department to put the prior president in jail he attacks the governor of Michigan on the very day a plot is discovered to kidnap her, Romney wrote in a social media post.
Romney also criticized the president for not committing to a peaceful transfer of power if he were to lose the election. The Utah senator expressed his concern for the comment made by the president on Twitter.
Fundamental to democracy is the peaceful transition of power without that, there is Belarus. Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable, tweeted Romney.
The story is breaking and will be updated.
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Romney: Trump Is Guilty Of An Appalling Abuse Of Public Trust
Wednesday, the president tweeted an ad depicting Romney as a Democratic secret asset. Recalling Romneys loss to President Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election, Trump tweeted early Thursday that if the failed presidential candidate had devoted the same energy and anger to defeating a faltering Barack Obama as he sanctimoniously does to me, he could have won the election.
Speaking with The New York Times podcast The Daily, Romney said he expects unimaginable consequences for his vote, adding that he does not yet know what they will be.
My personal and political and team affiliation made me very much not want to convict, he said. I mean, I want to be with my colleagues in the Senate. I dont want to be the skunk at the garden party. I dont want to have the disdain of Republicans across the country.
Perhaps the strongest criticism was leveled by Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., which was amplified by his tightknit circle of conservative allies. Trump Jr. tweeted that Romney is forever bitter he will never be president, calling him too weak to beat the Democrats then so hes joining them now.
Romneys Senate Republican colleagues expressed disappointment but did not excoriate him at the level of Trump and his eldest son. Still, they took him to task.
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Donald Trump Jr Met With Jan 6 Committee: Report
We wont win back the White House by nominating Donald Trump or a cheap impersonation of him, Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Library this week.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr has agreed with that sentiment, telling NBCs Today show last month, I certainly have made it clear, I dont think he should be our nominee and Im going to, you know, support somebody else for the nomination.
Still, Barr indicated that he would support Trump if he won the Republican bid.
Because I believe that the greatest threat to the country is the progressive agenda being pushed by the Democratic Party, its inconceivable to me that I wouldnt vote for the Republican nominee.
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Invoking His Faith An Emotional Mitt Romney Explains Vote To Convict Trump
Romney was the only Republican to break ranks with his party.
Utah Republican Mitt Romney explained Wednesday why he chose to convict President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial, becoming the only Republican to break ranks with his party.
Saying Trump is “guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust,” Romney became the first senator ever to vote to convict a president of his own party.
Romney split his vote on the articles of impeachment: guilty on abuse of power and not guilty on obstruction of Congress.
In a dramatic speech just two hours before the Senate took its final votes on the articles, an emotional Romney invoked his faith as a key reason guiding his decision.
Donald Trump Has Something To Say To Mitt Romney After He Was Booed Off
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 By Stillness in the Storm
Mitt Romney, the blue blood Republican who never quite got over never being elected president, unlike Donald Trump, was recently booed for minutes on stage at a speaking event.
by Kyle Becker, May 3rd, 2021
Romney was at the partys state convention in Utah with more than 2,100 Republican delegates packed into the Maverik Center. Watch:
So nice to see RINO Mitt Romney booed off the stage at the Utah Republican State Convention, Trump said. They are among the earliest to have figured this guy out, a stone cold loser!
Romney had mentioned Trump at the Utah convention, which drew booing.
So what do you think about President Bidens first 100 days? Romney asks.
Now you know me as a person who says what he thinks, and I dont hide the fact that I wasnt a fan of our last presidents character issues, he continued, drawing more boos.
Mitt Romney booed and called traitor at Utah Republican convention.
R. Scott Sicario 2.0 May 2, 2021
Arent you embarrassed? he finally asked.
Also on Saturday, a resolution to censure Mitt Romney for voting for Trumps impeachment conviction was narrowly defeated 798 to 711, according to Utah Republican Party spokeswoman Lynda Cox.
Mitt Romney was among seven Republican senators who voted to convict him at his Senate impeachment trial. The Senate vote was 57 guilty, 43 not guilty.
Mitt Romney is up for re-election in 2024.
Adaptogenic compounds to support memory, focus, and mood.
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Trump Has Endorsed Mitt Romney But Romney Once Called Trump A ‘fraud’ And Trump Said Romney ‘choked’
President Donald Trumps endorsement of Mitt Romneys U.S. Senate campaign in Utah may have come as a surprise to some given their complicated history.
Trump and Romney have had a roller-coaster relationship for years, often throwing insults at each other in times of distress and exchanging pleasantries when mutually beneficial.
Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee who is now running to replace retiring Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, famously called Trump a phony and a fraud during Trumps presidential campaign. Trump has repeatedly slammed Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, for his failed 2012 campaign, despite endorsing Romney that year.
Still, Trump considered Romney as a possible Secretary of State before choosing Rex Tillerson, and now Trump has endorsed Romneys political comeback.
.@MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch, and has my full support and endorsement!
Mitt Romney
Heres a history of Trump and Romneys rocky relationship.
Heres What You Need To Know For Tuesday Morning
The last troops have left Afghanistan, ending Americas longest war.
The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Utahs ban on schools enacting mask mandates, claiming the policy is discriminatory toward students with disabilities or health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the coronavirus.
The University of Utah Health system will require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Utah Valley University joins the list of public colleges in Utah requiring students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Utah Poison Control Center says theyve seen an increase in calls from people attempting to treat COVID-19 with Ivermectin, a horse dewormer.
The European Union recommended its 27 nations reinstitute travel restrictions on tourists from the U.S. because of rising coronavirus cases.
Abortion providers in Texas have asked the Supreme Court to block a restrictive new law that bans abortions after six weeks. The law also allows private citizens to bring civil suits against anyone who assists a pregnant woman seeking an abortion.
Goldman Sachs says 750,000 families could be evicted by the end of the year unless Congress takes action.
Former Utah Rep. Mia Love is joining The View as a guest host next week.
Hurricane Ida has left thousands without power along the Gulf Coast
The resort city of South Lake Tahoe was evacuated on Monday as a massive wildfire continued to move toward the area.
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Mitt Romney Calls Donald Trump 900lb Gorilla In The Republican Party
- Utah senator and 2012 candidate says GOP won policy battle
Donald Trump, stewing at the White House, reportedly approached by Jared Kushner about conceding the election but as yet unmoved, is the 900lb gorilla when it comes to the Republican party, Utah senator and 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said on Sunday.
The presidential election was called for Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate, on Saturday, when Pennsylvania moved into his electoral college column four days after the vote.
Trump, who responded with defiance and by playing golf will have an enormous impact on our party going forward, Romney told NBCs Meet the Press.
I believe the great majority of people who voted for Donald Trump want to make sure that his principles and his policies are pursued. So yeah, hes not disappearing by any means. Hes the 900lb gorilla when it comes to the Republican party.
Romney is a relative moderate in Trumps party and a relatively independent voice he was the only Republican senator to vote for impeachment but he also voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court with unprecedented and many say unseemly haste.
The presidential race, he said on Sunday, considering Republican victories in congressional, state and local elections, was more a matter of a referendum on a person. And that when it came to policy, we did pretty well.
