Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) noted Wednesday that his presence at last week’s Senate Republicans meeting with former President Trump does not mean he has changed his opinion of the former president.
“I didn’t go there to support former President Trump, I went there to hear what he planned to do if he became president,” he said. Romney told CNN anchor Manu Raju on Tuesday. “With President Trump, it’s a matter of personal character.”
“I draw the line and say that when someone has actually been accused of sexual assault, that’s something that I’m just not going to cross in the person that I would like to have as president of the United States,” he continued, in reference to the jury’s decision that found Trump responsible for sexual assault against writer E. Jean Carroll.
Trump visited the Capitol last week and met with Republicans from both chambers of Congress. The trip marked his first return to the Capitol since the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, and was the first official meeting with the Senate GOP conference since his presidency.
Romney, who has emerged as a Republican critic of Trump, has repeatedly criticized the former president’s character and said he will “absolutely not” vote for him in the November election.
When asked about his decision against voting for Trump earlier this year, the Utah Republican pointed to “two factors” – politics and character.
“What America is as a nation, what has allowed us to be the most powerful nation on Earth and the leader of the Earth, is the character of the people who have been our leaders,” Romney said. “Former presidents, but also mothers, fathers, church leaders, university presidents and so on.”
“Having such a characterless president would have a huge impact on the character of America,” he added. “And for me, that’s the main consideration.”
Romney, who ran for president in 2012 and secured the Republican Party’s nomination, also said he disagrees with Trump on foreign policy.
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