Senator Mitt Romney, the former presidential candidate and longtime critic of Donald Trump, appears to be softening his stance on the incoming president.
Romney, who will step down as Senator for Utah this month, appeared on Jake Tapper’s State of the Union on Sunday to discuss Trump’s landslide victory and acknowledge the success that the MAGA movement has delivered.
Here is a transcript of the exchange:
TAPPER: In an interview a few months ago, quote, “there is a good chance the Republican Party is going to need to be rebuilt or reoriented,”and that you want to have a voice in the post-Trump Republican Party.
Do you think that there’s still—do you still think there’s going to be a post-Trump Republican Party, or is MAGA now the Republican Party?
ROMNEY: Oh, MAGA is the Republican Party, and Donald Trump is the Republican Party today. And if you were to ask me who the nominee will be in 2028, I think it’ll be J.D. Vance, all right? He’s smart, well-spoken, part of the MAGA movement.
TAPPER: You said something pretty harsh about him a few months ago, though. You could not have less respect for somebody than J.D.?
ROMNEY: Long ago. I’m not going to rehash history. And we’ve worked together in the Senate since then. But I—you know, that is what the Republican Party is, and will the party need to change?
Look, the Republican Party has become the party of the working-class, middle-class voter. And you’ve got to give Donald Trump credit for having done that, taken that away from the Democrats. Democrats pushed him out, all right?
The Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren faction of the Democrat Party with some of this, you know, defund the police and transgenders in—or, excuse me, biological males and women’s sports.
These things had a lot of people in the middle class just flee the Democratic Party. They’re now Republicans. Now, one of the challenges in my party is that our policies do not necessarily line up with the interests of our voters.
And so there will be some, you know, some reorientation that’s going to be necessary in my party. The Democrat Party is the one in trouble. I mean, I don’t know how they recover. And, you know, I’m not going to tell them what to do because I would begin to have the capacity to do so.
But they’ve lost their base. I mean, union guys and gals have left the Democratic Party and are voting Republican. And the Democratic Party is seen not as rich people but as college professors and woke scolds. And that’s not an attractive feature.
Watch the clip below:
MITT ROMNEY SHOWS SOME ACTUAL GRACE TODAY ON CNN.
‘JD Vance will be the 2028 nominee.’
‘Trump deserves legitimate credit for expanding the party.’
‘Republican party is now MAGA, no question.’pic.twitter.com/gcYsDkI9HN
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) December 16, 2024
However, Romney did not offer such kind words during his recent farewell address in the Senate, instead making a less than subtle swipe at Trump and his supporters.
“There are some today who would tear at our unity, who would replace love with hate, who deride our foundation of virtue, or who debase the values upon which the blessings of heaven depend,” he declared.
“Now, I’ve been in public service for 25 years. I have learned that politics alone cannot measure up to the challenges we face,” he continued. “A country’s character is a reflection not just of its elected officials, but also of its people.”
Mitt Romney Defends Biden, Criticizes Special Counsel Hur in Comments to Liberal Media
