Romney Booed On Stage At Utah GOP Convention; Censure Vote Against Him Failed

Senator Mitt Romney was met with boos from the audience of the recently-concluded Utah Republican Convention when he took the stage to deliver a speech before the GOP crowd.

The Republican senator — a long time critic of former President Donald Trump — has faced backlash and a censure threat from the GOP delegation for his votes earlier this year to impeach the former GOP President.

He  also voted to convict him in the two Senate impeachment trials.

As the boos grew louder, reports noted that the Chairman of the Utah GOP, Derek Brown, had to interrupt Senator Romney’s speech to tell the rowdy crowd to quiet down.

“I’m a man who says what he means, and you know I was not a fan of our last president’s character issues,” the Utah senator said as his GOP audience threw insults at him including “communist” and “traitor,” as first reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, a local-owned publication.

“You can boo all you like,” Romney said. “I’ve been a Republican all of my life. My dad was the governor of Michigan and I was the Republican nominee for president in 2012.”

A journalist, covering the Utah GOP Convention wrote: “OK, a group of people just walked up to that delegate and appeared to tell him to shut up.”

“I can still hear delegates heckle @SenatorRomney as he goes through his speech. More boos,” Ben Winslow, who covers news in Utah added.

Nonetheless, the long-time Utah Republican ended his speech in a more positive note — calling for unity among the Republican Party.

“We need to come together in strength and unity,” Romney said.

“No censure” for Romney vote on impeachment

Meanwhile, Utah Republicans voted over the weekend not to censure Senator Romney, over his vote to impeach former President Donald Trump — along with six other GOP senators: Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska,) Richard Burr (North Carolina), Bill Cassidy (Louisiana), Ben Sasse (Nebraska), and Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania).

“Utah GOP delegates are closely split over whether to censure @SenatorRomney for Trump impeachment vote. Too close … now counting individuals,” one report wrote.

“That is really close… It looks to me that the opposed [side] is the majority …,” reporter Michael Locklear, added.

#BREAKING: Utah Republicans vote NOT to censure @SenatorRomney for his Trump impeachment vote,” Locklear said, noting that 711 voted to censure Romney against the 798 who were against it.

While Romney doesn’t face voter repercussions in an impending re-election race like Murkowski in the midterm election, his stance against former President Trump —  who remains a popular figure in the GOP — could drag his chances as he seeks reelection in 2024.

Earlier, the Utah senator admitted that former president Trump holds the upper hand in the Republican Party and will likely be voted again as the party’s nominee if he decides to run again in 2024.

“Will President Trump continue to play a role in my party? I’m sure he will. He has by far the largest voice and a big impact in my party,” the Utah senator said back in February.

“I don’t know if he’ll run in 2024 or not, but if he does I’m pretty sure he will win the nomination,” he added.

Steeve Strange

Steeve is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Scoop.