Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said he would “absolutely not vote” for former President Trump over President Biden in November, pointing to Trump’s foreign policy views and his personality.
“No. No, no, absolutely not.” Romney Said CNN’s Caitlan Collins was asked on “The Source” Wednesday if she would support Trump over Biden.
Romney said he uses “two factors” to decide “who we want to lead our country and who will be a role model president for our children and grandchildren.” He said that policy and personality were both important, but argued that the latter was most important.
“What is America as a nation? What has made us the most powerful nation on earth?” Romney said. “And the leadership of the earth is the character of our leaders, not just our presidents, but our mothers, our fathers, our church leaders, our university presidents.”
He added, “If we were to have a president with such an unparalleled personality, it would have a huge impact on the character of the United States.” “And for me, that’s the number one consideration.”
Romney, who ran for president in 2012 and secured the Republican nomination, said positions and policies are also factors considered in the presidential selection.
“When it comes to foreign policy, I’m not aligned with Donald Trump, at least as far as I understand his policies,” he said. “And the domestic policy, yes, was consistent with a lot of his domestic policy.”
But Mr. Romney, a Utah Republican, emphasized fundamental policy differences with Mr. Trump, saying Mr. Romney “respects Mr. Trump more.” [Russian President] Vladimir Putin deserves better than Vladimir Putin. ”
Romney added that he disagrees with Nikki Haley, Trump’s last remaining Republican candidate in the 2024 Republican primary, who said the former president had no chance of defeating Biden in the general election. He said he thought there was no such thing.
He predicted that Trump could win if the election were held today, but said that would result in “a dramatic change in our foreign policy.”
“I think people around the world are saying that America is no longer the leader of the free world or the weapon of democracy,” the senator said. “This is no longer a shining city on a hill. It is now an island.”
Mr. Romney announced in September that he would not seek re-election, making him one of his most critical senators.
He became the first senator from his own party to vote to convict a president of his own party during Trump’s first impeachment trial, and one of several Republican senators to vote to convict the former president during his second impeachment trial. Ta. However, neither trial reached the voting threshold needed to convict or remove him from office.
Hill called on the Trump campaign to respond.
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