Romney defends his 'stop Trump' campaign: 'I simply had to speak out'

In a Friday morning appearance on NBC's Today, Mitt Romney defended Thursday's big "stop Trump" speech, and tried to square it with the fact that he was endorsed by Trump in 2012 — an endorsement he had, at the time, accepted with glowing praise.

"A lot of people endorsed me who I wouldn't endorse for president," Romney said, adding that knowing what he knows now about Trump, he wouldn't have welcomed the endorsement.

Romney also pointedly reinforced his "anybody but Trump" campaign on the heels of Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich pledging to support Trump were he to get the Republican nomination. "You get to a point where your grandchildren are going to say, 'Papa, what did you do to stop Donald Trump?'" Romney said. "I simply had to speak out."

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Watch some of the interview, below. Jeva Lange