President Trump’s allies are preparing to declare that he was “acquitted” by the Senate. With 20 Republican defections needed to eject Trump from office, it’s almost certain he will prevail in a trial expected early next year. And it could be none other than Sen. Mitt Romney that keeps the vote from getting to a majority.
With 67 votes required for removal, the Democrats’ best hope is the defection of four Republican senators to say a “majority” voted to remove Trump. But any doomsday scenario begins with Romney, and Trump is making a late play to make the Utah Republican his newest “frenemy” in a Senate packed with past conservative critics. Romney’s vote could determine the direction of a handful of other Republicans.
Only a month after he called Romney a “pompous ‘ass'” on Twitter, Trump took a different tact before Thanksgiving, hosting Romney for a group lunch with senators and then inviting him back the next day for a Cabinet Room talk on vaping.
Romney, in the seat of honor to Trump’s right, blasted e-cigarettes during his second visit but did not answer a twice-shouted question about whether he will vote to remove Trump from office. Trump rocked in his chair, glanced at Romney, and laughed at the query.
The awkward courtship comes as Republican unity looks likely in the House, with potential swing vote Rep. Will Hurd of Texas objecting to a “rushed” process and a handful of Democrats expressing misgivings about impeachment.
Romney, who famously declared Trump “a phony, a fraud” in a 2016 speech, remains a Trump skeptic, recently saying Trump’s decision to push Ukraine and China to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter was “brazen and unprecedented.”
Trump unloaded on Romney at the start of impeachment proceedings. In October, he wrote on Twitter: “He is a pompous ‘ass’ who has been fighting me from the beginning, except when he begged me for my endorsement for his Senate run (I gave it to him), and when he begged me to be Secretary of State (I didn’t give it to him). He is so bad for R’s!”
As his rage mounted over Romney’s criticism of his conduct, Trump added: “I’m hearing that the Great People of Utah are considering their vote for their Pompous Senator, Mitt Romney, to be a big mistake. I agree! He is a fool who is playing right into the hands of the Do Nothing Democrats! #IMPEACHMITTROMNEY.”
Trump allies are glad to see Trump take a different approach toward Romney as a House impeachment vote and likely Senate trial approach.
“Anything the president can do to ensure that Republicans in the Senate hold the line against impeachment is worth him doing,” said a former White House official who asked not to be named. “While it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Romney were to end up supporting impeachment, it’s a savvy move for the president to do everything in his power to keep Republicans in the Senate wholly unified.”
Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump’s 2016 campaign and presidential transition, said it’s a smart decision by Trump, but argued that in the end, Romney might benefit just as much from sticking with Trump.
“President Trump has a 95% approval rating with Republicans, so these meetings are just as valuable to Sen. Romney as they are to the president,” Miller said. “But even with support for impeachment plummeting in swing states, it’s not a bad idea for the president to keep his friends close and his senators closer.”
Romney’s office declined to comment but pointed to recent public remarks in which he said he viewed his White House invites as unrelated to impeachment and that he may still vote against Trump.
“I’m going to keep an open mind, and I’m going to wait to make comments on any evidence. I want to see the facts,” Romney said in remarks highlighted by his office. “In my view, it’s time for me to stay silent on impeachment until the process is complete.”
