Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney will not support Vice President Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate, despite being an outspoken critic of former President Trump.
“I've made it very clear that I don't want Donald Trump to be the next president of the United States,” Romney said Tuesday at the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, The New York Times reported.
He later added at a political forum: “I want to continue to have a voice in the Republican Party after this election. I think there will likely be a need for a rebuild or a change in direction of the Republican Party.”
Romney announced last year that he would not seek re-election to the Senate representing the Beehive State and would resign in January. The Republican has long been a critic of Trump and suggested in June that he was unlikely to support the 45th president's reelection bid.
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Sen. Mitt Romney speaks to the media from his office in the Russell Senate Office Building on September 13, 2023 in Washington. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
“When it comes to President Trump, it's a matter of personal character,” Romney told CNN at the time. “If it turns out that someone has actually been sexually assaulted, I'll draw a line and say, 'If you don't want that person to be president of the United States, you'll never cross that.'” Romney's comments He cited the ruling of a federal jury in New York City last year that found Trump not liable for the rape of E. Jean Carroll, although the president was liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Rebecca Droke/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Romney also blamed Trump for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by the then-president's supporters, saying Trump was guilty of “hurt pride” in the 2020 election. He was accused of inciting a rebellion. Mr. Romney then became one of seven Senate Republicans to vote in favor of impeaching Mr. Trump on January 6th.
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Romney was also the only Republican to vote in favor of impeaching Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in 2020. Trump was acquitted in both of his two impeachment trials, making him the only president in history to be impeached twice and acquitted twice.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Mitt Romney, and former President Trump (Getty Images)
President Trump also hit back at Romney, saying in 2020 that the Utah senator “cannot stand the fact that he ran the worst campaign in presidential history,” referring to his 2012 White House run, and saying, He called out to Mr. That same year, he was “disgraced” for voting in favor of impeachment.
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Mr. Romney has previously broken with Republicans on other important issues, but on Tuesday he indicated he would not announce support for Ms. Harris, even though other Republicans have recently expressed support for the vice president. . Former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney formally endorsed Harris last week and joined her on the campaign trail in Wisconsin, as did former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger and former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake. I supported Mr.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mr. Romney's office for additional comment on this story, but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this article.
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