Romney Says He Didn’t Vote for Trump in 2020 Election

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) speaks to reporters near the Senate Subway on Capitol Hill on Jan. 24, 2019. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told reporters that he didn’t vote for President Donald Trump’s reelection, but he didn’t reveal who received his vote.

“I did not vote for President Trump,” Romney told CNN. His office later confirmed that to Fox News.

Romney was the only Republican in the Senate to vote in favor of Trump’s removal from office over a charge of abuse of power during his impeachment trial early this year.

The former GOP nominee for president has had an up-and-down relationship with Trump over the years. While Trump endorsed Romney for president in 2012, Romney said in 2018 that he wrote in his wife Ann’s name in 2016.

Romney was reportedly interested in becoming Trump’s secretary of state after Trump’s victory in 2016. The two were seen at a dinner in New York’s Jean-Georges restaurant.

Two years later, Romney sought Trump’s endorsement and received it when he ran for a Senate seat in Utah.

“Thank you Mr. President for the support. I hope that over the course of the campaign I also earn the support and endorsement of the people of Utah,” he wrote in February 2018.

This month, Romney issued a statement in which he criticized Trump’s behavior, saying it was part of a larger, more toxic culture in American politics.

“I’m troubled by our politics, as it has moved away from spirited debate to a vile, vituperative, hate-filled morass that is unbecoming of any free nation—let alone the birthplace of modern democracy. The president calls the Democratic vice presidential candidate a ’monster;‘ he repeatedly labels the Speaker of the House ’crazy;' he calls for the Justice Department to put the prior president in jail,” Romney said, before saying that Democrats have engaged in “blistering attacks of their own.”

He added that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “tears up the president’s State of the Union speech on national television,” while former ESPN pundit “Keith Olbermann calls the president a ’terrorist.' Media on the left and right amplify all of it.”

Romney last month announced he would vote to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, over the objections from Democrats. Trump nominated Barrett to the nation’s highest court in September following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

On Oct. 15, Romney reaffirmed he would vote to confirm her to the Supreme Court.

“After meeting with Judge Barrett and carefully reviewing her record and her testimony, I intend to vote in favor of her confirmation to the Supreme Court,” he said in a statement. “She is impressive, and her distinguished legal and academic credentials make it clear that she is exceptionally well qualified to serve as our next Supreme Court justice. I am confident that she will faithfully apply the law and our Constitution, impartially and regardless of policy preferences.”

Because of his support for Barrett, Trump says he is “no longer angry” with Romney.

“Do you see what’s going on with the Republican Party, how unified the Republican Party is? Right? Now, we’re unified,” Trump told a crowd of supporters in Jacksonville, Florida, on Sept. 24. “It’s a beautiful thing to see. Thank you, Mitt. Thank you. Appreciate it. Even Mitt’s on board. No, it’s a good thing to see.”