Watch: Romney Praised Trump in 2012 for His ‘Extraordinary’ Business Skills

This morning, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney eviscerated Donald Trump, calling him a “phony,” a “fraud,” and said that his economic plans would be “very bad for American workers,” asking GOP primary voters to cast their ballot for someone else.
Jonathan Zhou
3/3/2016
Updated:
3/3/2016

This morning, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney eviscerated Donald Trump, calling him a “phony,” a “fraud,” and said that his economic plans would be “very bad for American workers,” asking GOP primary voters to cast their ballot for someone else. 

“If we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished,” Romney said

Romney didn’t always think this way. 

Romney’s 2012 candidacy was in many ways similar to Trump’s own; Romney had touted his business record as evidence that he could turn the American economy around just as he had saved failing business, yet in 2012 he said that Trump was a better businessman than himself. 

“I spent my life in the private sector—not quite as successful as this guy—but successful nonetheless,” Romney said.