Romney rebukes Trump for 'recklessly' claiming the election was stolen

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is the latest Republican to push back against President Trump's baseless assertion that the 2020 election is being stolen as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden appears on the cusp of a potential victory.

In a Friday statement, Romney said Trump is "wrong" to claim he is being cheated out of a 2020 election victory, as he did in a White House speech on Thursday while baselessly alleging widespread voter fraud occurred.

"The president is within his rights to request recounts, to call for investigation of alleged voting irregularities where evidence exists, and to exhaust legal remedies — doing these things is consistent with our election process," Romney said. "He is wrong to say that the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen — doing so damages the cause of freedom here and around the world, weakens the institutions that lie at the foundation of the Republic, and recklessly inflames destructive and dangerous passions."

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Romney, the only Republican senator to vote to convict Trump in his impeachment trial, had previously urged Americans to "have faith in democracy" and called for "counting every vote." Another Republican senator, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), also called Trump's remarks from the White House "very hard to watch," adding that "the president's allegations of large-scale fraud and theft of the election are just not substantiated."

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who helped Trump with 2020 debate prep, also said Thursday he hasn't seen any evidence to back up Trump's claims and said of the president's remarks, "all it does is inflame without informing."