“A thought or a notion comes in and it comes out of his mouth. There’s not a lot of filter that goes on,” he said of Trump.
Some Republicans have read former President Donald Trump’s comment last week that would act as a dictator only on “day one,” as just another Trumpian quip. But not Sen. Mitt Romney.
“His behavior suggests that this is a person who will impose his will if he can on the judicial system, on the legislative branch and on the entire nation,” Romney (R-Utah) told NBC’s Kristin Welker during an interview on “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
“When he called people to come to Washington, D.C., on January 6, that was not a random date. That was the date when peaceful transfer of power was to occur. He called that on purpose. No question he has authoritarian rulings and interests and notions which he will try and impose,” Romney said.
And Trump isn’t even the biggest problem. Oh, he’s a big problem, don’t get me wrong, but if it was just Trump then a second Trump presidency would likely look a lot like the first - Trump does some horrible stuff but gets in his own way and gets too distracted to do the REALLY bad stuff. It would be bad, but our democracy might survive.
With the people who are ready and waiting to act behind the scenes (Project 2025), though, a Trump second presidency would be our last real election. We might have future elections like Russia “has elections.” Aka “Do you want to vote for the dictator or do you want to go to prison. You’re free to choose.”
This is an important distinction because even if Trump loses in 2024, the Project 2025 folks might still be around to launch Project 2029 or Project 2033.
Exactly this. They’re not (temporarily) going away until their fascist push runs out of steam, after which they’ll just build momentum and try again. It took them 50 years last time, but they now enjoy open support from billionaires and tens of millions of voters, so it will likely happen faster the next time (if there is a next time).
The millions of voters thing is possibly the most important part.
In the past there was at least some amount of generally agreed on standards and ethics and things. The “grab em by the pussy” thing would have been a campaign-ender, etc.
That’s what’s changed, though. That’s gone out the window. The GOP has realized that they can do virtually anything, get away with any bad behavior, etc as long as they:
- play up the culture war
- position their candidates as on the same team/tribe as Republican voters
…That’s it. That’s all they have to do, along with keeping the propaganda machine running. There’s steadily fewer and fewer people with ethics to get in the way. They certainly no longer matter to their voters.
Yea, and Romney was probably one of the few people that could’ve stopped him. He was a rare repub that was safe from being primaried in Utah, they just loved him too much. He could’ve attacked with impunity, where people like Liz Cheney got thrown out for their disloyalty.
Instead he’s retiring.
He could split the ticket in 2024. Cheney too.
That’s my hope anyway.
And instead I’m like: why the fuck do I care what Romney feels? And then skipped the rest of the article.
The republicans see that as a feature, not a bug.
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What makes me so angry about this situation is there’s no real end in sight. I did my ‘duty’ in '20 but in spite of a mountain of crimes (and endless tweets and op-eds) that Trump is a threat to the fabric of our very democracy, the party i voted in as stewards of said democracy can not find one thing, one. fucking . thing, to use to put him behind bars.
Now they ask us to do it harder this time, and im tired, boss. Can you promise me this is the last time?
Trump has money and could live to be 100 for all we know. Will we be “saving democracy from Trump” in 2028?
unrelated ramble time.
I remember there was this study about drowning rats where one group survived way longer then previous test subjects because this group had been taught that they would be saved right before death. I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I feel like i understand how the rats must’ve felt.
Is now really the time for the government to be asking the people to help? We’re drowning here you know?
I did my ‘duty’ in '20 but in spite of a mountain of crimes (and endless tweets and op-eds) that Trump is a threat to the fabric of our very democracy, the party i voted in as stewards of said democracy can not find one thing, one. fucking . thing, to use to put him behind bars.
You…want a political party to arrest Trump and throw him in jail? What part of our justice system do you not understand?
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I’m gonna need you to write whatever the heck it is you just said in a complete sentence, please. Or, at a minimum, please check your grammar.
So again, based on words that you, yourself just wrote…explain to me how “the party [you] voted” is supposed to “put him behind bars”. Walk me through the mechanics of that.
edit: Also I find it hilarious that you used the word “insipid” to describe my “argument” (despite the fact that none was presented). If the basic tenets of our criminal justice system are uninteresting to you, then I’m starting to understand why you put your argument forward in the first place.
you should stop being a coward and throw the pig in jail, Mitt
Republicans: Nice!
Mitt was happy to pal up to Trump in 2012. He even made cute little jokes about not needing a passport to travel in the Red States [wink wink] Now the poor man is SHOCKED that his pal isn’t a good person.
If Trump is a human gumball machine, Romney is a one-penny Chicklets dispenser. Cheaper, blander and no one really likes it.
Edit: I think people are taking my ‘Romney is a gumball machine except less electable’ joke as an endorsement of Trump.
In response to your edit:
I don’t think people think that. The joke just isn’t funny. Mostly because (for those of us who can remember Romney) it’s just a bad take.
This joke would work for DeSantis… He IS cheaper, blander, and nobody really likes him.
Romney is very much his own thing. At this point, a very rare thing.
He’s probably the only republican I wouldn’t mind seeing on the ballot.
Mitt Romney is a bland white guy who is helping Trump with the election despite claiming he’s going against him by retiring and letting a younger, more vibrant, more MAGA Senator almost definitely be elected in his place because it’s Utah. He tries to pretend he isn’t pro-Trump because he occasionally went against his policies, but he voted for them a lot more than against them. He just doesn’t like Trump because he thinks Trump makes more “serious” Republicans like him look bad, while simultaneously supporting him and his policies.
He would have done little different from Trump if he were elected. He just wouldn’t have entertained the base as much.
Trump is credibly compromised by Russia, whereas Romney was MOCKED during his presidential race for highlighting Russia as the number one geopolitical foe.
I’m sorry, they could not be more diametrically opposed w.r.t their understanding and alignment around the geopolitical landscape.
It’s ABSURD to try and paint him as “Like Trump, Just less”.
And, for the record, we all know what you’re saying when you say “bland white guy from Utah”. Just say it.
That’s ridiculous. Everyone knows America’s number one geopolitical foe is pants that don’t have an elastic waistband.
Romney was one of the very few Republicans (along with the late John McCain) who continued to call out Trump for what he is after he won the primaries and critisize his fellow R’s, rather than immediately start dickriding, which is why he is one of the very few Republicans I have any level of real respect for. Plus, IIRC he’s a moderate by 2008 standards, which is basically a liberal today. OP must have known nothing about the guy, read “republican”, and immediately started making assumption.
And, for the record, we all know what you’re saying when you say “bland white guy from Utah”. Just say it.
What am I saying? I honestly do not know what you think I’m saying.
Also, I didn’t say “from Utah.” He’s the senator from Utah. He’s from Detroit.
The Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
