Sen. Mitt Romney posted a message on social media Monday backing Sen. Mike Rounds after his Republican colleague was criticized by former President Donald Trump for saying the 2020 election was fairly decided.
Mike Rounds speaks truth knowing that our Republic depends upon it. Republicans like Govs Hutchinson, Baker & Hogan; Sens McConnell, Thune & Johnson; Bush & Cheney; plus 60+ courts and even the right-leaning Wall Street Journal editorial page agree: Joe Biden won the election.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) January 10, 2022
Romney, a Utah Republican who was his party’s nominee for president in 2012, wrote on Twitter, “Mike Rounds speaks truth knowing that our Republic depends upon it.”
He added that Republican governors, senators, and even former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as the conservative-leaning Wall Street Journal editorial page, are in agreement that “Joe Biden won the election.”
TRUMP BLASTS GOP SEN. MIKE ROUNDS FOR SAYING THE 2020 ELECTION WAS DECIDED FAIRLY
Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, said during an interview on ABC News’s This Week on Sunday that the 2020 election was “fair, as fair as we’ve seen” despite Trump’s repeated and baseless claims that the election was stolen from him.
Rounds argued that lawmakers and election officials in battleground states did their “due diligence” by investigating Trump’s claims but found no evidence of systemic fraud. He said claims to the contrary would hurt Republicans at the ballot box in later election cycles.
“As a part of our due diligence, we looked at over 60 different accusations made in multiple states…The election was fair, as fair as we’ve seen. We simply did not win the election, as Republicans, for the presidency,” GOP Sen. Mike Rounds says. https://t.co/RWOXLxux1e pic.twitter.com/nk7mE8xVsc
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 10, 2022
“We simply did not win the election, as Republicans, for the presidency,” Rounds said. “And if we simply look back and tell our people, ‘Don’t vote because there’s cheating going on,’ then we’re going to put ourselves in a huge disadvantage.”
Rounds said he would have to take “a hard look” at whether he would support Trump if he seeks the presidency again in 2024.
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Rounds’ comments sparked a backlash from Trump, who issued a statement Monday attacking Rounds as “a weak and ineffective leader” and vowing, “I will never endorse this jerk again.”
