Mitt Romney denounced Donald Trump in harsh terms on Thursday in an effort to thwart the billionaire’s control of the Republican Party.
To defeat Trump, he made a strategic endorsement of all candidates, though he denied that he was endorsing any candidate.
“Frankly, the only serious policy proposals that deal with the broad range of national challenges we confront, come today from Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich,” Romney said at a press conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. “One of these men should be our nominee.”
Whom Republicans should vote for, however, depended on where they were. Romney wants voters to support the strongest non-Trump candidate in their respective states.
“If the other candidates can find common ground, I believe we can nominate a person who can win the general election and who will represent the values and policies of conservatism. Given the current delegate selection process, this means that I would vote for Marco Rubio in Florida, for John Kasich in Ohio, and for Ted Cruz or whichever one of the other two contenders has the best chance of beating Mr. Trump in a given state,” he said.
It won’t take long to see if voters care about what Romney thinks. On Saturday, Kansas, Kentucky, and Maine, will hold caucuses, along with a primary in Louisiana and a Sunday primary in Puerto Rico.
Polls for those caucuses and primaries are scarce, but the Romney strategy favors Cruz in Louisiana and Kansas, and Rubio in Kentucky.
“We face another time for choosing, one that will have profound consequences for the Republican Party and more importantly, for the country,” Romney said. Whether Republican voters see Romney as a source of wisdom, or a guiding light in the party, is yet to be seen.
