Warning of “profound consequences for the Republican Party,” Romney said that “if we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished”/AFP
WASHINGTON, United States, Mar 3 – Republican 2012 White House nominee Mitt Romney excoriated Donald Trump as unfit to be president Thursday, in a deeply personal attack that exposed party panic at the billionaire’s political success.
Baldly stating that “Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud,” Romney said his party’s frontrunner “has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president.”
Romney offered a litany of pejorative descriptions of Trump, saying he was greedy, dishonest, bullying and misogynistic.
His stem-winder is highly unusual in a party that long swore by Ronald Reagan’s “11th commandment” – “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”
But Trump’s shock electoral success has provoked utter panic among the Republican establishment, who believe he will destroy the party if he wins the nomination.
Warning of “profound consequences for the Republican Party,” Romney said that “if we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished.”
It is far from clear that Romney’s intervention will stop Trump’s meteoric rise.
The real estate mogul has defied expectations in winning nine of the 15 state-wide primary contests held so far, garnering more than three million votes.
Using seemingly unlimited free media coverage, Trump has tapped into deeply felt grassroots anger at the party leadership.
Romney was quick to scotch suggestions he may use the speech to back a rival or throw his hat into the ring.
“I am not here to announce my candidacy for office,” he said. “I am not going to endorse a candidate today.”
Romney heavily lost the 2012 election to incumbent President Barack Obama.
Diplomatically, he listed Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich and said “one of these men should be our nominee.”
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- Former Massachusetts Governor and 2012 United States Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, gives a speech at the Hinckley Instutite of Politics on the campus of the University of Utah denouncing Donald Trump, in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 03 March 2016. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican candidate for US president, called current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump a “phony and a fraud” in a speech at the University of Utah. A Trump candidacy would have “profound consequences” for the nation and the world, Romney said. “The prospect for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished” by a Trump presidency, the former Massachusetts governor said. The speech comes as the Republican party leadership is pulling out all the stops to halt Trump’s candidacy in the wake of his success on Super Tuesday. EPA/Tom Smart
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- Former Massachusetts Governor and 2012 United States Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, gives a speech at the Hinckley Instutite of Politics on the campus of the University of Utah denouncing Donald Trump, in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 03 March 2016. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican candidate for US president, called current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump a “phony and a fraud” in a speech at the University of Utah. A Trump candidacy would have “profound consequences” for the nation and the world, Romney said. “The prospect for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished” by a Trump presidency, the former Massachusetts governor said. The speech comes as the Republican party leadership is pulling out all the stops to halt Trump’s candidacy in the wake of his success on Super Tuesday. EPA/Tom Smart
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- Former Massachusetts Governor and 2012 United States Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, gives a speech at the Hinckley Instutite of Politics on the campus of the University of Utah denouncing Donald Trump, in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 03 March 2016. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican candidate for US president, called current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump a “phony and a fraud” in a speech at the University of Utah. A Trump candidacy would have “profound consequences” for the nation and the world, Romney said. “The prospect for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished” by a Trump presidency, the former Massachusetts governor said. The speech comes as the Republican party leadership is pulling out all the stops to halt Trump’s candidacy in the wake of his success on Super Tuesday. EPA/Tom Smart
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- Former Massachusetts Governor and 2012 United States Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, gives a speech at the Hinckley Instutite of Politics on the campus of the University of Utah denouncing Donald Trump, in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 03 March 2016. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican candidate for US president, called current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump a “phony and a fraud” in a speech at the University of Utah. A Trump candidacy would have “profound consequences” for the nation and the world, Romney said. “The prospect for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished” by a Trump presidency, the former Massachusetts governor said. The speech comes as the Republican party leadership is pulling out all the stops to halt Trump’s candidacy in the wake of his success on Super Tuesday. EPA/Tom Smart
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- (FILE) A file picture dated 02 February 2012 of then Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R) addressing supporters after being endorsed by US business magnate Donald Trump (L) at a press conference at the Trump International Tower Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican candidate for US president, on 03 March 2016 called current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump a “phony and a fraud” in a speech at the University of Utah. A Trump candidacy would have “profound consequences” for the nation and the world, Romney said. “The prospect for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished” by a Trump presidency, the former Massachusetts governor said. The speech comes as the Republican party leadership is pulling out all the stops to halt Trump’s candidacy in the wake of his success on Super Tuesday. EPA/MICHAEL NELSON
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- Former Massachusetts Governor and 2012 United States Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, gives a speech at the Hinckley Instutite of Politics on the campus of the University of Utah denouncing Donald Trump, in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 03 March 2016. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican candidate for US president, called current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump a “phony and a fraud” in a speech at the University of Utah. A Trump candidacy would have “profound consequences” for the nation and the world, Romney said. “The prospect for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished” by a Trump presidency, the former Massachusetts governor said. The speech comes as the Republican party leadership is pulling out all the stops to halt Trump’s candidacy in the wake of his success on Super Tuesday. EPA/Tom Smart
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