(Washington Examiner) Former President Donald Trump celebrated Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) announcing he would not seek an additional term in the Senate, declaring it “FANTASTIC NEWS FOR AMERICA,THE GREAT STATE OF UTAH, & FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.”
Romney, first elected in 2018, said he felt he would be less effective in a second term in announcing he would not seek reelection next year. Trump took to Truth Social to post his thoughts on Romney’s announcement shortly after.
Trump and Romney have had many peaks and valleys in their relationship. Trump endorsed Romney for his 2012 presidential campaign, which Romney would ultimately lose to then-President Barack Obama, even tweeting that a vote for Romney would “Make America strong again.”
In 2015, when Trump announced his presidential campaign, Romney was critical of Trump’s remarks on illegal immigrants and on then-Sen. John McCain. Trump responded to several of Romney’s criticisms, even saying Romney “choked” in the 2012 election. Romney’s criticisms of Trump during the 2016 campaign reached a peak when he delivered a speech in Utah in March 2016 in which he said “Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud.”
Following Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election, Romney called Trump to congratulate him and later met with him in New Jersey and New York as Trump was staffing his Cabinet. Romney would ultimately not be selected. When Romney ran in 2018 for his Senate seat in Utah, Trump endorsed him.
“He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to [then-Sen. Orrin Hatch], and has my full support and endorsement!” Trump tweeted at the time.
