Sen. Mitt Romney has “done all of the things you need to do to become a great president” except actually winning a presidential election, according to a Utah ally of the junior senator.
The state’s former Rep. Chris Cannon weighed in on his fellow Utah Republican’s attacks on President Trump, saying he believes Romney’s critiques stem from a lifelong goal of vindicating his father’s failed 1968 presidential bid by becoming the occupant of the Oval Office himself.
“I believe that many people are assuming that Romney’s attacks on the president are to further his ambitions to displace the president in the next election and become president himself,” Cannon, who considers Romney a friend, told NBC News.
“I know his ambition has ever been to become president of the United States,” he added, “and he’s done all of the things you need to do to become a great president of the United States — except get elected.”
Romney has been one of the most outspoken sitting Republican lawmakers when it comes to criticizing the president. Most recently, the Utah senator drew Trump’s ire by slamming his call for China to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, prompting the president to call him a “pompous ass” and to demand his impeachment.
Romney, who has indicated that he’s open to voting to remove Trump from office should the House’s impeachment inquiry reach the Senate, said he believes other Republicans shy away from publicly criticizing the president out of fear of losing both the Senate and the White House in 2020 — especially to Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Trump has repeatedly mocked Romney for losing the 2012 presidential election to former President Barack Obama and recently tweeted out an attack ad targeting Romney, which referred to him as a “Democrat secret asset” and included footage from his election night loss.
