Mitt Romney took to Twitter on Monday to blast President Trump’s reported comments about Haiti and countries in Africa. The tweet signals that Romney could remain a critic of the White House if he decides to run for Senate.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Romney called Trump’s comments “inconsistent w/ America’s history and antithetical to American values.”
The poverty of an aspiring immigrant’s nation of origin is as irrelevant as their race. The sentiment attributed to POTUS is inconsistent w/ America’s history and antithetical to American values. May our memory of Dr. King buoy our hope for unity, greatness, & “charity for all.”
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) January 15, 2018
The tweet illustrates Romney’s antagonistic relationship with President Trump. It also shows that if the former governor of Massachusetts runs for Senate and wins, he could remain a Trump critic in Congress.
Tim Chambless is a political scientist with the University of Utah who says Romney likely hasn’t forgotten the public embarrassment Trump put him through last year, when Romney was passed over for the Secretary of State appointment.
“It’s personal,” Chambless said. “It’s not just a disagreement on public policy issues, it’s deeply personal.”
“I would not be surprised if a freshman U.S. Senator Mitt Romney would criticize a fellow Republican in the White House,” he said.
Romney is expected to announce his bid for Senate soon, if not this week.
If he does announce, Romney’s chances of victory are high. In the 2012 presidential election, 72 percent of Utahns voted for Romney over Barack Obama.
The prominent Mormon is headlining two events in coming days. On Tuesday, he’s keynoting an economic and policy summit hosted by the Salt Lake Chamber.
On Friday, he’ll speak at the Silicon Slopes summit for Utah’s tech community. Gov. Gary Herbert and U.S. Senator Jeff Flake are also on the agenda for that morning.
