Utah Senator and fierce Trump critic Mitt Romney has said he laughs at the MAGA phrase “America First” because it represents an isolationism that is alien to Republican Party tradition. Romney remarked that Donald Trump and his “populist” message are moving people away from the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan or George HW Bush, who would not recognize a GOP that believes America is better off without its allies or its leadership on the world stage.
“How about a world where China and Russia control the world, and we have our own little island?” he asked, remarking that America’s best interests are served when it prevents tyranny worldwide.
During the same interview, Mr. Romney said that if he were Joe Biden, he would have pardoned Donald Trump and prevented the pursuit of any criminal cases against him. The Senator believes the courtroom has become a stage for the former President on which he can declare his persecution by a system that seeks to silence him. Romney added that pardoning Trump would have made Biden look like the “big guy pardoning the little guy.”
Senator Romney was the only Senate Republican to vote for Donald Trump’s impeachment, and when he announced his resignation from politics last year, he said the party was clearly “inclined to a populist demagogue message.” More recently, he criticized his fellow Republicans for attending a Manhattan court to support the former President, who is on trial for falsifying documents to cover up hush payments to an adult actress.
Several prominent GOP figures, including Senator JD Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson, former primary competitor Vivek Ramaswamy, and Floridian Reps. Byron Donalds and Cory Mills attended court on May 13 to offer moral support to Mr. Trump. Several spoke to waiting reporters, with some describing the trial as a sham and a “travesty of justice.”
Romney denounced the gesture, calling it embarrassing. He argued that Presidential candidates should be expected to maintain “dignity and decorum.”
