Sen. Mitt Romney said President Trump is tarnishing his legacy by continuing to engage in rhetoric that suggests he was the true winner of the 2020 election.
The Utah Republican told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that he believes Trump should focus on his accomplishments in office, rather than how the election turned out.
“It’s really sad in a lot of respects and embarrassing because the president could, right now, be writing the last chapter of this administration with a victory lap with regards to the vaccine,” Romney said, adding, “He could be going out championing this extraordinary success, but instead he’s leaving Washington with a whole series of conspiracy theories and things that are so nutty and loopy that people are shaking their head wondering what in the world has gotten into this man? I think that is unfortunate because he has more accomplishments than this last chapter suggests.”
Romney has been one of the most prominent critics of Trump, who has publicly broken away from the president throughout his tenure in the White House. Trump has responded at times by referring to the Utah senator as a “RINO” or a Republican in name only.
Administration officials have become increasingly concerned with Trump’s unwillingness to accept Joe Biden as the president-elect, according to Axios. Officials say they became more worried after rumors began floating about Trump’s interest in his former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s talk of martial law, and an idea proposed of issuing an executive order to seize voting machines.
Trump said via Twitter that the reports of any martial law being considered were “fake news.”
“Martial law = Fake News. Just more knowingly bad reporting!” Trump said on Sunday.
Inauguration Day is one month away.
