2020 challenge? Romney slams Trump's character, hasn't 'risen to the mantle' of presidency

[enhanced_deficit]

Perhaps sensing MAGA's weakness, Romney pounces.

Romney slams Trump's character in new op-ed

By Niv Elis - 01/01/19 0
Incoming Utah Senator and former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney slammed President Trump's character on Tuesday, writing in a Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mitt-romney-the-president-shapes-the-public-character-of-the-nation-trumps-character-falls-short/2019/01/01/37a3c8c2-0d1a-11e9-8938-5898adc28fa2_story.html?utm_term=.dbd657087eea&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1) op-ed that it fell short of what the country needed.

"With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable. And it is in this province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring," Romney wrote.

Romney, who criticized Trump in the run up to the 2016 election, said the events of the past month, including the departures of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chief of Staff John Kelly, marked a worrying decline for Trump's presidency.
"On balance, his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office," Romney wrote.
Romney argued that Trump's "shortfall" set a poor example for America's "public character," while alienating U.S. allies.
"I do not intend to comment on every tweet or fault. But I will speak out against significant statements or actions that are divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions," he wrote. "To reassume our leadership in world politics, we must repair failings in our politics at home. That project begins, of course, with the highest office once again acting to inspire and unite us," he went on.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/423435-romney-slams-trumps-character-in-new-op-ed

[Swordsmyth]

Perhaps sensing MAGA's weakness, Romney pounces.

Romney slams Trump's character in new op-ed

By Niv Elis - 01/01/19 0
Incoming Utah Senator and former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney slammed President Trump's character on Tuesday, writing in a Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mitt-romney-the-president-shapes-the-public-character-of-the-nation-trumps-character-falls-short/2019/01/01/37a3c8c2-0d1a-11e9-8938-5898adc28fa2_story.html?utm_term=.dbd657087eea&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1) op-ed that it fell short of what the country needed.

"With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable. And it is in this province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring," Romney wrote.

Romney, who criticized Trump in the run up to the 2016 election, said the events of the past month, including the departures of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chief of Staff John Kelly, marked a worrying decline for Trump's presidency.
"On balance, his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office," Romney wrote.
Romney argued that Trump's "shortfall" set a poor example for America's "public character," while alienating U.S. allies.
"I do not intend to comment on every tweet or fault. But I will speak out against significant statements or actions that are divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions," he wrote. "To reassume our leadership in world politics, we must repair failings in our politics at home. That project begins, of course, with the highest office once again acting to inspire and unite us," he went on.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/423435-romney-slams-trumps-character-in-new-op-ed
Mittens is a loser, a charlatan and a fool, he carpetbagged to Utah because he couldn't be elected anywhere else, he is no threat to Trump.

[RonZeplin]

Carpetbagger Mitt wants to be Opraha's VP in 2020.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/pbox.php?url=https://d1i4t8bqe7zgj6.cloudfront.net/03-02-2017/t_1488418732418_name_58b7767be4b065061af122b7_1455 589917779_yrd15k_t_1488418545657_640_360_400.gif&op=noop

[Schifference]

Thomas Massie is a very likable amazing individual that has a wonderful demeanor. It appears he is the true definition of grassroots. He had a local issue and got involved and wrote letters and went to meetings. He instantly became liked by like minded people that were appreciative of his representation. He improved his local, county, and state. All the people that he has represented propelled him to win the congressional seat of a retiring congressman. Presently he meets constituent's of other congressman that tell him that he is their and or their children's favorite congressman. Thomas is easy to listen to and his logic is impossible to argue with. He is independently wealthy and does not need to be in politics. He is a true American Patriot. I think he is building a following that could propel him to the oval office. I would support him over each and every other possible candidate.

[Origanalist]

"I do not intend to comment on every tweet or fault. But I will speak out against significant statements or actions that are divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions,"

Mitt the social justice warrior, how cute.

[phill4paul]

Thomas Massie is a very likable amazing individual that has a wonderful demeanor. It appears he is the true definition of grassroots. He had a local issue and got involved and wrote letters and went to meetings. He instantly became liked by like minded people that were appreciative of his representation. He improved his local, county, and state. All the people that he has represented propelled him to win the congressional seat of a retiring congressman. Presently he meets constituent's of other congressman that tell him that he is their and or their children's favorite congressman. Thomas is easy to listen to and his logic is impossible to argue with. He is independently wealthy and does not need to be in politics. He is a true American Patriot. I think he is building a following that could propel him to the oval office. I would support him over each and every other possible candidate.

I think, eventually, you might see this. I would really like to see him replace McConnell for a time before running for POTUS though.

And bringing it back to the OP... Fuck you, Mitt.

[Schifference]

I think, eventually, you might see this. I would really like to see him replace McConnell for a time before running for POTUS though.

And bringing it back to the OP... $#@! you, Mitt.

Agreed but since Mittens was complaining I wanted to provide a viable solution.

[kona]

Thomas "Jefferson" Massie would be a FABULOUS president.

[Schifference]

Thomas "Jefferson" Massie would be a FABULOUS president.

Agreed. He would by my number 1 choice!

[enhanced_deficit]

Almost synchronized timing of Mitt's appearance and 2020 predictions in media.

From Drudge:


OUCH! (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6547487/)
https://www.drudgereport.com/i/logo9.gif



Predictions: Trump goes, unexpected candidate emerges in 2019

By John LeBoutillier, opinion contributor — 01/01/19 09:00 AM EST


As a new chapter in American history unfolds with the start of another year, here are some predictions for the political scene in 2019:

Donald J. Trump’s presidency will not survive 2019;
The downward trajectory of every aspect of his tenure indicates we are headed for a spectacular political crash-and-burn — and fairly soon;
His increasingly erratic and angry behavior, his self-imposed isolation (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/i-am-all-alone-an-isolated-trump-unleashes-a-storm-of-yuletide-gloom/2018/12/24/382fdd88-07a4-11e9-a3f0-71c95106d96a_story.html?utm_term=.19e022a3c120), his inability and refusal to listen to smart advisers that he hired, all are leading him to a precipice;ADVERTISEMENT
Meanwhile, the global and U.S. economies are softening in great part because of the unnecessary and ill-conceived trade war (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/29/americas-global-trade-war-arrives-at-wto-as-members-dispute-us-tariffs.html) he launched against Canada and our European allies; if he wanted to conduct a legitimate trade war against China (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenroberts/2018/12/28/in-cross-hairs-of-china-trade-war-kansas-corn-pennsylvania-coal-florida-gold-trump-re-election/#66022c641c1d), wouldn’t it have made more sense to have trading allies such as Canada and Europe with us, instead of making them our adversaries?
Consumer confidence is declining (https://www.apnews.com/5677fae72dd24a339e3557bf093b0b61?utm_source=newsle tter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiospm&stream=top) and the American economy will slow noticeably in 2019. A recession (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/12/20/feature/a-recession-is-coming-trump-is-going-to-make-the-recovery-worse/?utm_term=.29864aef5b08) is right around the corner, heading into 2020;
The volatility in the stock markets threatens to weaken Trump’s support among the GOP donor class, which will translate to GOP senators pulling away from Trump in short order;
Legally, Trump is in peril from not only from special counsel Robert Mueller (https://thehill.com/people/robert-mueller)’s investigation but also from separate investigations (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/new-york-prosecutors-allen-weisselberg-trump/568516/) being conducted by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York into Trump’s life and business dealings;
Fox News hosts are beginning to question the Trump administration’s actions on air, showing cracks (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/14/fox-news-to-file-amicus-brief-on-cnn-case-990070) — albeit, small cracks at the moment — in Fox’s heretofore 100 percent fealty (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/21/line-between-trump-fox-news-isnt-blurry-it-barely-exists/?utm_term=.f78640c16323) to Trump;
These cracks will expand into chasms as news and entertainment mogul Rupert Murdoch calculates Trump’s prognosis and decides he doesn’t want his Fox News network to go down the drain with Trump;
Fox recently lost several days in a row to MSNBC in the ratings race (https://www.newsweek.com/fox-news-msnbc-ratings-morning-1272396) — and Fox host Sean Hannity has lost (https://www.newsweek.com/fox-news-host-sean-hannity-has-seen-his-ratings-fall-buddy-donald-trumps-1272554) 20 percent of his nightly audience since the midterm elections;
Without Fox approving Trump’s agenda, his support (https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/) will decline from the 40s into the upper 20s;
The Mueller investigation will come to an end in 2019;
Mueller will shock everyone with what he has discovered, and the result will be much worse for Trump than anyone has anticipated;
Yes, Trump indeed knew about the now-infamous June 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting (https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/31/politics/trump-tower-meeting-timeline/index.html) — and he lied to the American people repeatedly about it;
Trump lied on Air Force One when he concocted a phony statement (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-dictated-sons-misleading-statement-on-meeting-with-russian-lawyer/2017/07/31/04c94f96-73ae-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html?utm_term=.be176e38406f) about “adoptions,” because he knew the truth about the meeting;
The Mueller investigation will unveil evidence of Trump putting himself out to the highest bidder in return for campaign help and financing: Russians, Saudis, Emiratis, Qataris — there will be evidence that millions of foreign dollars illegally flowed into the Trump campaign coffers in 2016;
In other words, Trump basically said, “I’m for sale”;



https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/423132-predictions-trump-goes-unexpected-candidate-emerges-in-2019

[Anti Federalist]

Oh, OK, so now I know who is going to play McPain's role from now on.

Great, he should be good for thirty or forty years.

[enhanced_deficit]

Not clear it's because Romney's niece is current RNC Chair, MAGA's response is surprisingly measured and toned down in sharp contrast to his response day before after criticism from a militray general ("Trump calls retired general a ‘dog’ with a ‘big, dumb mouth’ (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?529831-Trump-calls-retired-general-a-‘dog’-with-a-‘big-dumb-mouth’)") :


"Here we go with Mitt Romney, but so fast! Question will be, is he a Flake? I hope not. Would much prefer that Mitt focus on Border Security and so many other things where he can be helpful. I won big, and he didn’t. He should be happy for all Republicans. Be a TEAM player & WIN!"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2019






Carpetbagger Mitt wants to be Opraha's VP in 2020.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/pbox.php?url=https://d1i4t8bqe7zgj6.cloudfront.net/03-02-2017/t_1488418732418_name_58b7767be4b065061af122b7_1455 589917779_yrd15k_t_1488418545657_640_360_400.gif&op=noop


No chance IMO because of her pretty recent ties to "me too" movement starter Harvey Weinstein... and Obama.



Thomas Massie is a very likable amazing individual that has a wonderful demeanor. It appears he is the true definition of grassroots. He had a local issue and got involved and wrote letters and went to meetings. He instantly became liked by like minded people that were appreciative of his representation. He improved his local, county, and state. All the people that he has represented propelled him to win the congressional seat of a retiring congressman. Presently he meets constituent's of other congressman that tell him that he is their and or their children's favorite congressman. Thomas is easy to listen to and his logic is impossible to argue with. He is independently wealthy and does not need to be in politics. He is a true American Patriot. I think he is building a following that could propel him to the oval office. I would support him over each and every other possible candidate.

Bit inexperienced but that might be a plus, seems very much better than current crop on the horizon.

[Ender]

I'm no Mitt fan but he is right about Trump's pathetic tweets- credit where credit is due.

And Massie would be awesome!

[AuH20]

Rand just dunked on Romney.

1080482589176152065

[AuH20]

https://i.redd.it/il1b2qyvzz721.jpg

[EBounding]

Nobody likes Romney.

[shakey1]

Romney is such a douche.

[dannno]

The lamest part, IMO, is the Mormon Ebonics dog whistling nonsense...

Sit down, Second Counselor..

[Anti Globalist]

Romney's just mad because he didn't have an alpha male personality like Trump.

[Anti Federalist]

We’ve heard it all before from Romney the RINO

https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/01/02/carr-weve-heard-it-all-before-from-romney-the-rino/

By HOWIE CARR | howard.carr@medianewsgroup.com | Boston Herald

PUBLISHED: January 2, 2019 at 1:20 pm | UPDATED: January 2, 2019 at 8:25 pm

Meet the new Mittens, same as the old Mittens.

He’s either at your feet or at your throat, as Clemenceau once said of Germany.

Always willing to stab another Republican in the back, even more eager to genuflect in front of whatever loathsome hack Democrat will be only too ready to double-cross Willard when the moment arrives, as it invariably does.

Willard Mitt Romney — The Washington Post’s latest anti-Trump bloviator shares the same first name as the most famous rat in Hollywood history. Coincidence?

At age 71, about to be sworn in today as the junior senator from his latest home state of Utah, he’s already putting the blast on his leader of his party, Donald J. Trump.

That’s right, the same Trump whose endorsement for president Romney flew to Las Vegas to slobberingly accept in 2012, after which Mitt denounced him as a flim-flam man in early 2016 when Trump himself was seeking the job, and then only months later made a pilgrimage to Trump Tower after the election to beg President-elect Con Artist on bended knee for the job of Secretary of State … .

You might say he was for Trump before he was against Trump before he was for Trump before he was against Trump. You can’t get any more Willard than that. He’s flipped on the subject of Trump more often than he’s flipped on abortion, or illegal immigration.

And now, hours before assuming office, Willard attacks Trump in the most rabid of the Fake News print outlets, The Washington Post, for not having “risen to the mantle of the office.”

If you missed the sanctimonious screed, don’t feel bad. It was easy to overlook, in the Post’s daily torrent of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Mittens’ piece was competing for clicks against op-eds about, among many other things, “Trump’s nihilism” and “this sad, embarrassing wreck of a man,” not to mention “the cult of Trump’s personality” and “the frightful portrait of a man out of control” or – well, you get the picture.

In other words, Mitt is now merely another voice in the chorus, another brick in the wall. And he puts the blast on Trump in the same parlor-pink sheet that in 2012 basically accused him of driving a gay prep-school classmate to an early grave … by cutting his hair in a childish prank in the early 1960s.

Once again, Mitt proves himself a victim of political Stockholm Syndrome, identifying with his captors. He’s not a battered wife, he’s a battered RINO – Republican in Name Only.

But unlike most of the other never-Trumpers, Mittens doesn’t wear a bow tie. He wasn’t born in Moscow or Nicaragua or Toronto, like so many of the other neo-con Trump haters. He didn’t run a crappy little magazine that just folded.

He was the GOP candidate in 2012, for Pete’s sake, as he would put it. You’d think he’d be willing to give a guy who accomplished what he and his father George before him never could the benefit of the doubt. But no.

“A president,” the wannabee president wrote, “should demonstrate the essential qualities of honesty and integrity.”

Honesty and integrity — you know, like Barack “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” Obama. Or George “Mission Accomplished” Bush. Or Bill “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky” Clinton. Or George H.W. “Read my lips, no new taxes” Bush.

That’s the kind of honesty and integrity that Mittens would like to see return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Mittens claims to be truly heartbroken to learn from a “Pew poll” that there is now less faith in the United States among people in “Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Sweden.”

Oh no!

By the way, given recent events, how much confidence do the sheep-like residents of those decaying, immigrant-overridden gerontocracies have in their own failed governments?

Don’t worry, though, Mittens vows to “speak out” against policies that are “divisive, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions.”

Virtue signaling, thy name is Willard. You know, for a guy who’s never taken a drink, Sen. Romney certainly seems to have an unhealthy craving to get invited to all the fashionable cocktail parties in Georgetown.

If only he had shown such backbone when, say, Ted Kennedy was drunkenly attacking him in 1994, or when Barack Obama slapped him down for speaking the truth about Benghazi and Russia in 2012. But no, when a pablum-puking leftist as much as glares at him, Mittens drops into the fetal position and begins whining, “May I have another, sir?”

But Mitt’s play now is pretty clear. As of today, Sens. Jeff Flake and Bob Corker are gone from politics. Ditto his old running mate, Speaker Paul Ryan. John Kasich is leaving office in Ohio. John McCain ain’t coming down for breakfast.

So there’s a vacuum to be filled in the prime time lineups of CNN and MSNBC and on the networks’ unwatchable Sunday chat shows. Those Democrats with press passes want a Republican on their panels along with the six Democrats, an elected Republican, preferably, who’s responsible, an adult, who wants to reach across the aisle … and then stumble into the fetal position for a good stomping in the general election.

Paging Willard Romney. I can see the editorials now in his new favorite newspapers, the Post and The New York Times about how he’s “grown” and “evolved” and … .

Mitt still wants these Democrats to love him. I guess you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but it’s a lesson Mittens should have learned decades ago.

If you’re a Republican putting the blast on other Republicans, you’re the toast of the town. At least until you’re running head-to-head against a Democrat. Then you’re just plain toast.

[Brian4Liberty]

It has been terribly disappointing over the past decade watching Mitt Romney turn into nothing more than a hollow neoconservative lapdog...


Robert Kagan is a neoconservative writer and historian based at the Brookings Institution. A longtime proponent of an aggressive, interventionist U.S. foreign policy, Kagan has played an influential role in shaping the neoconservative agenda for more than two decades. Kagan is also one of a host of neoconservatives to have vocally criticzed Donald Trump
...
a foreign policy adviser to the Republican presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and John McCain.
...
https://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/robert-kagan/


Dan Senor is an investment banker and neoconservative pundit.
...
In 2009, Senor cofounded—with William Kristol and Robert Kagan—the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI), a neoconservative group viewed by some as a revival of the now-defunct Project for a New American Century (PNAC).
...
Senor was a leading foreign policy adviser to the 2012 presidential campaign of Mitt Romney
...
https://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/dan-senor/


Joseph was named as an adviser to the Mitt Romney presidential campaign, joining a number of former Bush administration figures and neoconservatives as members of the campaign’s foreign and defense policy team.[2] In March 2012, Joseph contributed his name to a Romney campaign open letter addressed to President Barack Obama ...Signatories claimed to be concerned that the president was weakening the United States by cutting back on missile defense, going easy on Russia, pressuring “the Israelis to grant one-sided concessions to the Palestinians,” and cutting defense budgets. Additional signatories to the letter included John Bolton, Eliot Cohen, Eric Edelman, Robert Kagan, Dan Senor, and Walid Phares.[3]
...
https://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/robert-joseph/


Eric S. Edelman, a former U.S. diplomat and adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, has supported a number of militarist policy initiatives. He is a founding board member of the Foreign Policy Initiative, an advocacy group founded in 2009 by neoconservative figures William Kristol, Robert Kagan, and Dan Senor widely regarded as a successor group to the Project for the New American Century. He also served as a key foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012.....
...
https://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/eric-edelman/

[Brian4Liberty]

2020 challenge?

Mittens/McMuffin 2020!

(The best option that the LDS/neoconservative/swamp coalition could come up with...)

[Anti Federalist]

It has been terribly disappointing over the past decade watching Mitt Romney turn into nothing more than a hollow neoconservative lapdog...

Turn into?

His record at the helm of Massachusetts tells you all you need to know.

[Swordsmyth]

Another flip flop:


Utah’s incoming senator Mitt Romney came out in favor of President Donald Trump’s border wall after the president and the president’s supporters expressed their extreme displeasure with Romney’s criticism of Trump.
“I would vote for the border wall. That’s been part of my platform for many, many years. I think we should have a border wall on our southern border…That’s necessary but insufficient,” Romney said in his interview Thursday with CNN’s Jake Tapper.

Romney declined to endorse Trump for president in 2020 and said that he is waiting to see what the “alternatives” are to Trump, but said that “I am not running again.” He made reference to a potential Republican primary.

More at: https://bigleaguepolitics.com/winning-mitt-romney-goes-pro-wall-after-trump-pressures-him/

[ProBlue33]

I despise that charlatan, we remember his 2012 antics against Ron Paul, Rand will counter him every step of the way at least.
A deep state lackey with no respect. Trump endorses him twice, and this is what he gets in return.
He is the worst type of person, a slimy back stabbing snake on par with with Judas Iscariot.

[timosman]

Another flip flop:


Utah’s incoming senator Mitt Romney came out in favor of President Donald Trump’s border wall after the president and the president’s supporters expressed their extreme displeasure with Romney’s criticism of Trump.
“I would vote for the border wall. That’s been part of my platform for many, many years. I think we should have a border wall on our southern border…That’s necessary but insufficient,” Romney said in his interview Thursday with CNN’s Jake Tapper.

Romney declined to endorse Trump for president in 2020 and said that he is waiting to see what the “alternatives” are to Trump, but said that “I am not running again.” He made reference to a potential Republican primary.

More at: https://bigleaguepolitics.com/winning-mitt-romney-goes-pro-wall-after-trump-pressures-him/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7TR6Wdu1IM

[nikcers]

Romney is just sad that he didn't win in 2012, sore loser. It's Ironic that he attacks the presidents character when that was the reason why people didn't vote for Romney. If Romney says that Trump hasn't risen to the character of a scumbag politician then that is a compliment to me.

[fcreature]

I despise that charlatan, we remember his 2012 antics against Ron Paul, Rand will counter him every step of the way at least.
A deep state lackey with no respect. Trump endorses him twice, and this is what he gets in return.
He is the worst type of person, a slimy back stabbing snake on par with with Judas Iscariot.

Curious that Ron Paul considers him a friend...

[nikcers]

Curious that Ron Paul considers him a friend...

Ron Paul considers lots of people friends who aren't political allies. I don't recall him endorsing him unless that fell down a memory hole he didn't exactly endorse Mitt Romney in 2012 or help him become president by running attack ads against him. You could say the Rand Paul did endorse Mitt Romney, but most of the Ron Paul people I know rejected Rand for it, and embraced Ron Paul even more for not endorsing Mitt Romney.

[Aratus]

Gentleman Mitt is a political animal. I wonder how he views Mike Pence? The Mittster might run again...