Mitt Romney on Trump: ‘He’s Very Likely’ to Get GOP Nomination

Mitt Romney on Trump: ‘He’s Very Likely’ to Get GOP Nomination
President-elect Donald Trump and Mitt Romney dine at Jean Georges restaurant in New York on Nov. 29, 2016. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Jack Phillips
5/5/2022
Updated:
5/5/2022

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said that if former President Donald Trump decides to run for president in 2024, he will probably win the Republican nomination.

“I don’t delude myself into thinking I have a big swath of the Republican Party,” Romney, a frequent critic of Trump, told Politico on May 5. “It’s hard to imagine anything that would derail his support. So if he wants to become the nominee in [2024], I think he’s very likely to achieve that.”

While it’s not set in stone that Trump will run for president again, the former commander-in-chief has offered strong hints in recent days. Trump hasn’t formally announced his plans, saying that he would do so after the 2022 midterm elections are over. He’s also cited federal election rules regarding election donations.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), said Trump is “the leader of the party, that’s clear. ... If he decides to run, he will be the nominee.”

Trump, 75, said in April that his health would play a factor in whether he would run in 2024. The former president will turn 78 in 2024.

“You always have to talk about health. You look like you’re in good health, but tomorrow you get a letter from a doctor saying come see me again,” Trump told The Washington Post in April. ‘That’s not good when they use the word ‘again.'”

Trump noted that he’s in good health.
In the meantime, Trump has used his platform to boost certain Republican candidates who have pledged support to his movement. Notably, Republican Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance secured the Republican nomination this week.

“I think we’re going to have a tremendous season. I think we’re going to win a lot of races with great candidates who are going to go on to big numbers in the fall,” Trump said earlier this week after Vance won.

Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee for president, voted to convict Trump twice during efforts to impeach him, although both attempts to convict ultimately failed.

Romney said following the 2020 election: “He will have an enormous impact on our party going forward. I believe the great majority of people who voted for Donald Trump want to make sure that his principles and his policies are pursued.

“But I think if you look at the numbers and look at the pickup that Republicans had in statehouses across the country and Congress and holding the Senate so far, versus our loss in the presidency, you’d suggest that the presidential race was more a matter of a referendum on a person.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misattributed a quote to Romney. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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