Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney says his constituents think he’s being too tough on President Donald Trump.
Romney told USA Today on Monday that he has surveyed constituents in dominant Republican areas of Utah during town halls. (RELATED: Romney Says ‘America Is An Unreliable Ally’ After Trump Pulls Troops Out Of Syria)
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 29: (L to R) President-elect Donald Trump and Mitt Romney dine at Jean Georges restaurant, November 29, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“How many of you in the room think I’m being too tough on the president?” Romney asked voters. About half the room reportedly responded by raising their hands.
The Utah senator noted that he did not do this poll because he regrets criticizing Trump, but because he wanted to show voters you can respectfully disagree with each other.
“People tend to associate with people of like mind, and they assume everyone thinks the way they do,” Romney said. “And so, our town hall meetings have been quite civil.”
Earlier this month, Romney criticized Trump over his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Northern Syria.
“The President’s decision to abandon our Kurd allies in the face of an assault by Turkey is a betrayal,” Romney said in a tweet. “It says that America is an unreliable ally; it facilitates ISIS resurgence; and it presages another humanitarian disaster.”
The President’s decision to abandon our Kurd allies in the face of an assault by Turkey is a betrayal. It says that America is an unreliable ally; it facilitates ISIS resurgence; and it presages another humanitarian disaster. https://t.co/Tu8ARa8Pmp
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) October 7, 2019
When the transcript of the phone call between Trump and the president of Ukraine first came out, Romney said he was “deeply” troubled after reading it.
“If the President asked or pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate his political rival, either directly or through his personal attorney, it would be troubling in the extreme. Critical for the facts to come out,” Romney stated on Twitter.
Mitt Romney never knew how to win. He is a pompous “ass” who has been fighting me from the beginning, except when he begged me for my endorsement for his Senate run (I gave it to him), and when he begged me to be Secretary of State (I didn’t give it to him). He is so bad for R’s!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2019
Trump respond by saying Romney “never knew how to win” and that he was a “pompous ass.”