Mitt Romney lambasted the other Republicans running in the 2016 presidential primary for failing to stop Trump, saying at a Utah summit he convened that the current state of the race “breaks your heart.”
“Their biggest failure was attacking each other and not the front-runner,” Romney said, according to a report from Politico.
Romney is hosting a summit GOP insiders and donors this weekend.
He argued that by spending time attacking each other, the other candidates in the GOP primary essentially ignored Trump, who is now the GOP presumptive nominee.
Romney lashed out at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for spending a lot of time praising Trump in a strategy that essentially backfired. He also criticized Ohio Gov. John Kasich for remaining in the race with no viable path to victory, according to Politico.
The former 2012 nominee had endorsed Ted Cruz late in the primary process after it was known he was the only viable challenger left.
He also criticized Jeb Bush’s super PAC Right to Rise for funding attacks on Bush’s rivals and not on Trump, Politico said.
Romney made waves on Friday by saying on CNN that a Trump win could legitimize racism and end up in “trickle-down racism.”
He was referring to Trump’s recent attacks on a federal judge’s Mexican heritage. Trump has said in recent weeks that Judge Gonzalo Curiel cannot preside over a lawsuit against the now-defunct Trump University because of his Mexican heritage.
The remarks ignited widespread condemnation from Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. However, both figures have said they still plan on voting for Trump.
