Romney: Rhetoric about 'rigged' elections 'gets picked up by authoritarians around the world'

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was one of the first and most prominent Republicans to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their election victory Saturday. On Sunday, he made the network rounds, where he was asked by the likes of Chuck Todd and Jake Tapper about President Trump's refusal so far to concede the election.

Romney, who often clashes with Trump, said, ultimately, no one will be able to change Trump's "nature" in the final days of his presidency, so he expects him to fight the results until the end, even though he'd like to see a "more grateful departure." When push comes to shove, though, he said he expects Trump will concede.

Romney acknowledged it's within Trump's rights to pursue recounts in tightly contested states, as well as other legal strategies, but he did take issue with the president's rhetoric, noting that using language like "stolen" or "rigged" to describe the election boosts authoritarianism around the world and undermines confidence in the democratic system. Tim O'Donnell

The Week

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.