Trump demands Mitt Romney be a 'team player' after critical op-ed
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
President Trump's feud with Senator-elect Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has been fully reignited.
"Here we go with Mitt Romney," Trump tweeted Wednesday after the former Massachusetts governor and 2012 presidential candidate published an op-ed criticizing his character. Trump demanded Romney "be helpful" and a "TEAM player" while a member of the U.S. Senate, also taking a swipe at his 2012 election loss, writing, "I won big, and he didn't."
Romney in his op-ed said that Trump has "not risen to the mantle of the office." Any president, he wrote, should demonstrate "honesty and integrity" and "elevate the national discourse with comity and mutual respect," but in that department, Trump has fallen short. He also promised to "speak out against significant statements or actions" from Trump that are "divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest, or destructive to democratic institutions."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This wasn't too surprising considering Romney criticized Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, calling him a "phony" and a "fraud" and ultimately refusing to vote for him in the general election. Trump, in turn, went after Romney, calling him a "mixed up man who doesn't have a clue." Despite this, Trump ultimately endorsed Romney's 2018 campaign, saying he would "make a great Senator."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
The environmental cost of GLP-1sThe explainer Producing the drugs is a dirty process
-
Greenland’s capital becomes ground zero for the country’s diplomatic straitsIN THE SPOTLIGHT A flurry of new consular activity in Nuuk shows how important Greenland has become to Europeans’ anxiety about American imperialism
-
‘This is something that happens all too often’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
