Mitt Romney Has Crystal Clear Message On Voting For Trump

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said on Wednesday night that theres no chance hed vote for Donald Trump in Novembers election.

No, no, no, absolutely not, he said when asked by CNN s Kaitlan Collins if he could cast a ballot for the former president.

He said he considers both policy and character when choosing the person who is the example of the president for my kids and my grandkids.

Trumps a mixed bag on policy: Though Romney agrees with much of the former presidents domestic agenda, he said he disagrees with him on foreign policy.

But theres another dimension besides policy, and thats character, Romney said. And I think what America is as a nation, what has allowed us to be the most powerful nation on Earth and the leader of the Earth, is the character of the people who have been our leaders, past presidents, but also mothers, fathers, church leaders, university presidents and so forth.

Thats where Trump falls well short of the mark, he said.

Having a president who is so defaulted of character would have an enormous impact on the character of America. And for me, thats the primary consideration.

Romney didnt vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020, and he said last year he would likely make the same decision at the polls in November should Trump be the nominee.

Its pretty straightforward. Its the same thing Ive done in the past. Ill vote for Ann Romney, wholl be a terrific president, he said on CNBC , referring to his wife.

Collins: Would you vote for Donald Trump over Joe Biden?

Romney: No, absolutely not. pic.twitter.com/76cNW4hkzb

Acyn (@Acyn) February 29, 2024","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Acyn","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Acyn","cache_age":86400,"description":"Collins: Would you vote for Donald Trump over Joe Biden?Romney: No, absolutely not. pic.twitter.com/76cNW4hkzb Acyn (@Acyn) February 29, 2024\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Acyn on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1763032409396650201","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"65e0042de4b013678e13bdaa","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/mitt-romney-no-vote-for-trump_n_65e0042de4b013678e13bdaa","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,2024-election,mitt-romney,kaitlan-collins,@us_huffpost_now","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"media,us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/b195720b-fca2-4dc5-8e7c-726f804b6179/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":6},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"65e0042de4b013678e13bdaa","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"2024 election","slug":"2024-election","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/2024-election","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/2024-election","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/2024-election"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"2024 Elections","slug":"2024-elections","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/2024-elections"},{"name":"Mitt Romney","slug":"mitt-romney","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/mitt-romney","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/mitt-romney","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/mitt-romney"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Mitt Romney","slug":"mitt-romney","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/mitt-romney"},{"name":"Kaitlan Collins","slug":"kaitlan-collins","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/kaitlan-collins","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/kaitlan-collins","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/kaitlan-collins"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/kaitlan-collins"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Collins: Would you vote for Donald Trump over Joe Biden?

Romney: No, absolutely not. pic.twitter.com/76cNW4hkzb
Acyn (@Acyn) February 29, 2024

Romney and Trump have had a contentious relationship for years. Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, delivered a speech in 2016 urging his party to reject Trump, whom he slammed as a phony and a fraud.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Hes playing the American public for suckers, he said at the time.

When Trump won, however, Romney infamously sat for an awkward dinner with him , reportedly in hopes of being named secretary of state. When that didnt pan out, he ran for Senate. Since winning that election, he has consistently criticized Trump and was one of just seven Republican senators to vote to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial.

Romney is retiring from the Senate rather than run for reelection this year.