Trump is already attacking Mitt Romney, ignoring aides urging him to let it go


Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) didn't give the White House or the Republican National Committee, run by a niece, advance warning that he would announce his vote to convict President Trump for abuse of power on Wednesday, but he knew the blowback was coming. And it came quickly. Donald Trump Jr. was the first Trump to attack Romney, saying the Senate GOP should expel Romney — which won't happen — and mocking him for wearing "mom jeans."
The president, who hates defections and had wanted to poach at least one Senate Democrat for acquittal (he got none), held his fire for a few hours. Then on Wednesday evening he posted an attack video in which the narrator says Romney, a lifetime Republican and the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, is "posing as a Republican" and was "exposed by news reports as a Democrat secret asset." The ad also contrasts Trump's 2016 victory with Romney's 2012 loss. It doesn't mention impeachment.
"Whether the thirst for vengeance against Romney is sustained will hinge on Trump, who has long smarted from the Utah Republican's criticism of him and takes pride in hitting back at perceived and real enemies," The Washington Post reports. "Party and campaign officials said privately that they hoped Trump wouldn't obsess over the lone defection and move on from impeachment," and "a senior Trump campaign official said the longer the Romney news cycle drags on, the worse it is for the president, because it focuses attention on his impeachment."
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.
Senate Republicans shrugged off Don Jr.'s call to cancel Romney, but Romney's eight-minute floor speech announcing his decision did not paint his GOP colleagues in a flattering light, either.
"The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor. Yes, he did," Romney told a nearly empty Senate chamber. "The president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust."
"I am aware that there are people in my party and in my state who will strenuously disapprove of my decision, and in some quarters, I will be vehemently denounced," Romney added. "I am sure to hear abuse from the president and his supporters. Does anyone seriously believe I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it of me?"
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot