Mitt Romney unleashes on Donald Trump in epic take-down
REPUBLICAN statesman Mitt Romney has gone nuclear on presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, warning that the billionaire will destroy America.
MITT Romney has launched an extraordinary attack on fellow Republican Donald Trump, describing him as “a phony” and calling on Americans to shun him for the good of the world.
In a scathing 20-minute take-down, the former Republican presidential candidate called The Donald a “very, very not smart” misogynist who will hand the presidency to Hillary Clinton.
“Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He’s playing the American public for suckers. He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat,” the former Massachusetts Governor said at the Hinckley Institute of Politics Forum at the University of Utah on Thursday.
“I believe with all my heart and soul that we face another time for choosing, one that will have profound consequences for the Republican Party and more importantly, for the country.
“His domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign policies would make America and the world less safe. He has neither the temperament nor the judgement to be president. And his personal qualities would mean that America would cease to be a shining city on a hill.”
Romney ran for president in 2012, and was endorsed by Trump, but lost to Barack Obama.
His scathing personal attack on Trump is highly unusual in a party that swears by Ronald Reagan’s “11th commandment”: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” But it is another sign that Trump’s shock electoral success has provoked panic among Capitol Hill conservatives.
TRUMP RESPONDS TO ROMNEY’S ATTACK
Not long after Romney’s vicious tirade, Trump hit back at a rally in Maine.
“He was very nasty. I mean, I thought he was a better person than that,” he said.
Trump blasted Romney for “begging” for his endorsement four years ago, only to criticise him now.
“I don’t know what happened to him,” Trump said. “You can see how loyal he is. He was begging for my endorsement. I could have said Mitt, ‘drop to your knees.’ He would have dropped to his knees.”
He also labelled Romney a “choke artist”, saying: “He choked like I’ve never seen anyone choke. Other than (Marco) Rubio.”
Trump added that Romney declined to run a third time this year because he was afraid of him. Trump said his wife, Melania, asked him to respond “presidentially” to Romney’s attacks.
If Trump had said 4 years ago the things he says today about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, disabled, I would NOT have accepted his endorsement
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) March 3, 2016
Hours before Romney’s speech, 69-year-old Trump was already defending himself.
“Looks like two-time failed candidate Mitt Romney is going to be telling Republicans how to get elected. Not a good messenger!” Trump tweeted.
“Failed candidate Mitt Romney, who ran one of the worst races in presidential history, is working with the establishment to bury a big ‘R’ win!”
The former reality TV star added: “I am the only one who can beat Hillary Clinton. I am not a Mitt Romney, who doesn’t know how to win. Hillary wants no part of ‘Trump’.”
ROMNEY RIPS INTO ‘DECEITFUL’ TRUMP
Trump’s pre-emptive strike didn’t intimidate Romney, who used his speech to dissect the Republican frontrunner’s personal finances.
“His bankruptcies have crushed small businesses and the men and women who worked for them. He inherited his business, he didn’t create it. And what ever happened to Trump Airlines? How about Trump University? And then there’s Trump Magazine and Trump Vodka and Trump Steaks and Trump Mortgage? A business genius he is not,” he said.
“I predict that there are more bombshells in his tax returns. I predict that he doesn’t give much if anything to the disabled and to our veterans. ... And I predict that despite his promise to do so, first made over a year ago, he will never ever release his tax returns. Never. Not the returns under audit, not even the returns that are no longer being audited. He has too much to hide.”
However the Republican Party statesman saved his most vicious attacks for Trump’s stance on key foreign policy issues.
“Mr Trump is directing our anger for less than noble purposes. He creates scapegoats of Muslims and Mexican immigrants, he calls for the use of torture and for killing the innocent children and family members of terrorists,” Romney said.
“He cheers assaults on protesters. He applauds the prospect of twisting the Constitution to limit first amendment freedom of the press. This is the very brand of anger that has led other nations into the abyss.”
He also revisited Trump’s comments about former President George W Bush.
“Donald Trump says he admires Vladimir Putin, while he has called George W Bush a liar,” Romney said. “That is a twisted example of evil trumping good.”
While Romney, 68, didn’t endorse a candidate, he called on voters to support anyone but Trump to ensure a Republican win at the general election in November.
“A person so untrustworthy and dishonest as Hillary Clinton must not become president. But a Trump nomination enables her victory,” Romney said.
REACTIONS TO ROMNEY’S TAKE-DOWN
One person who has Trump’s back is former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who described Romney’s speech as “silly and contradictory” and told the billionaire not to “take the bait”.
“Donald Trump is the shock the Permanent Political Class needs to wake them up ... to destroy their selfish cabal ... to respect the will of the people ... to make America safe and solvent ... to make America great again,” she wrote on Facebook.
Former GOP presidential candidate turned Trump supporter Chris Christie said he did not watch Romney’s speech, but noted that Romney was entitled to his opinion.
“Mitt Romney is a very, very good friend of mine. We have a political disagreement. He has every right to express his opinions and his view and only he can determine whether he thinks what he said was appropriate and the timing and all the rest of it, that’s up for him to decide,” the New Jersey Governor said at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
“I’m sure there are others in the race that wish he would make an endorsement and get out there and actually try to help someone, but he has chosen not to do that.”
Christie also said that he “was not being held hostage” by the Trump camp, adding that he is supporting Trump because he believes he is the best candidate to beat Clinton.
Meanwhile Trump’s Republican rival John Kasich backed Romney, tweeting: “Well said, @MittRomney. -John.”
Well said, @MittRomney. -John pic.twitter.com/pTwmBTaeAo
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) March 3, 2016
Romney joins a growing chorus of Republican conservatives seeking to crush the New York property mogul, with even Wall Street expected to go nuclear on Trump.
Top financiers are reportedly writing massive cheques to the Our Principles PAC — a big-money fund entirely focused on bringing down Trump.
A CNN anchor said Romney’s address, which came days after the businessman won seven out of 11 states on Super Tuesday, could spark “the beginning of an avalanche” of anti-Trump discontent.
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