Sen. Mitt Romney Says Donald Trump Likely Republican Nominee If He Runs Again In 2024
Senator Mitt Romney admitted that former president Donald 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.
Romney, a staunch critic of the former President — who also voted to convict him in the two Senate impeachment trials — told a New York Times’ DealBook interview that Trump still holds a majority of the support within the GOP.
“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 during the virtual DealBook/D.C. Policy Project conference on Tuesday.
“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.
On Donald Trump, Senator Mitt Romney at the DealBook DC Policy Project said: "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." #DealBookDC https://t.co/Q6zOBOXHks pic.twitter.com/TK6fE9KLx2
— DealBook (@dealbook) February 24, 2021
Romney went on to say that although he is “not great at predicting” — polls asking Republican voters who they want to be the party’s presidential candidate show the obvious.
“If Trump is on the list, he wins in a landslide,” the senator added.
Nonetheless, Romney was firm that should Trump become the GOP nominee again in the next election, he won’t be voting for him.
“I would not be voting for President Trump, again. I haven’t voted for him in the past. And I would probably be getting behind someone I thought more represented the tiny wing of the Republican Party that I represent,” the Utah senator went on.
Romney made similar remarks after the November 3 election last year, telling NBC’s Meet the Press that the former president will continue to play a big role in the GOP moving forward.
“He is without question the most powerful voice in our party. He will have an enormous impact on our party going forward,” the senator said that time. “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, I mean he’s not disappearing by any means.”
“He’s the, you know, the 900 pound gorilla when it comes to the Republican Party,” he added.
Mitt Romney calls Donald Trump '900lb gorilla in the Republican party' https://t.co/n97Ahl6FAX
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) November 8, 2020
Romney was the only GOP senator to vote to convict Trump during the Senate’s first impeachment trial against the former president in February 2020 related to charges of “abuse of power and obstruction of Congress” amid allegations he “unlawfully solicited Ukrainian authorities” to influence the 2020 elections.
The Utah senator also voted to convict Trump again during his second impeachment trial, along with six other Republican senators who sided with Democrats during the vote — Senators Richard Burr (North Carolina), Bill Cassidy (Louisiana), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Ben Sasse (Nebraska), and Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania).
While Trump has yet to decide on his next political move, he said last week that is not closing his door on the possibility of running again in 2024, telling a Newsmax interview that he is currently ‘looking at poll numbers.’
“I won’t say yet, but we have tremendous support,” he said when asked whether he’s running again in 2024.
“I’m looking at poll numbers that are going through the roof.”
