According to Mediaite, Mitt Romney, once the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2012, underwent a transformation from a respected figure within the party to a marginalized outsider due to his public opposition to former President Donald Trump. McKay Coppins’s insightful biography, “Romney: A Reckoning,” delves into this shift, drawing from extensive conversations with Romney, as well as private journal entries and communications that provide a rare glimpse into Romney’s inner struggles as he grappled with Trump’s ascendancy and the subsequent reshaping of the GOP.
Upon assuming his Senate position in 2018, Romney was disheartened by Trump’s conduct as president. He was alarmed by the chaos that marked the start of Trump’s presidency and was further troubled by Trump’s erratic actions, including firing the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, and defying Pentagon officials’ appeals for pardons for convicted military officers. Despite his concerns, Romney hesitated to openly challenge the president, citing the desire to avoid tensions with the White House and alienation from his fellow Republican colleagues.
In private correspondences with advisers and his personal journal, Romney expressed growing frustration with Trump’s behavior, lamenting his character deficiencies and the negative impact they were having on the country’s reputation internationally. A turning point occurred when Trump abruptly announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, prompting Defense Secretary James Mattis’s resignation and a government shutdown over border wall funding, which left numerous workers without pay during the holiday season.
Expressing his frustration, Romney sent a scathing email to his advisers, criticizing Trump’s presidency and character, emphasizing that he never imagined Trump’s presidency would be so tumultuous. This cathartic release led to Romney penning an op-ed for the Washington Post in January 2019, condemning Trump’s failures as commander-in-chief, a move that intensified the hostility from Trump and his supporters. Despite facing backlash and opposition within the Senate, Romney continued to be a vocal critic of Trump’s presidency, a stance that persisted throughout the turbulent events that marked Trump’s tenure, including two impeachment trials and the Capitol riot in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
He was the last person I wanted as the Republican nominee. I made that clear. After he won the nomination, I watched his campaign to see if he might surprise me. He did not. When he won, I hoped he would rise to the occasion. His call for me to potentially serve at State fueled that hope—after all, I had been a very vocal detractor.
Unfortunately, President Trump did not grow to match the office. His smallness has instead diminished it. The American President has long served as a model for the nation; few would imagine holding Donald Trump up for their children to emulate. Around the world, he, and to some degree the nation that elected him, have become a laughing stock. His poverty of character has been exposed so often and in so many ways that many here have become inured to it. Not so for those who watch him from abroad.
I was asked repeatedly to apologize for what I said about Donald Trump, to say that having spent more time with him, I had learned that I was wrong. I demurred. But in truth, I did not imagine that he would be so tragic as president. The incessant lying, the adulterer payoffs, the unwillingness to study and deliberate, the weakening of alliances, the elevation of autocrats, the impetuous decision, the demonizing of others, the divisiveness, the inability to hire and retain people of accomplishment — these are as stunning to me as they are to others. I did not think he would be this bad.
