Romney avoids censure after speech interrupted by boos at Utah GOP convention


Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Saturday stepped on stage to give a speech at the Utah Republican Party's organizing convention, but he had trouble getting going amid boos and jeers from the audience, members of which were still upset about his votes to convict former President Donald Trump in both of his impeachment trials.
Romney tried to reason with the crowd, stating that "you know me as a person who says what he thinks, and I don't hide the fact that I wasn't a fan of our last president's character issues." That only got folks more riled up, however, and it wasn't until outgoing party chair Derek Brown went to the podium and told the crowd to quiet down and "show respect" that the boos stopped. At that point, cheers in support of Romney and Brown erupted, and they continued after the senator acknowledged there are "a few folks who don't like me terribly much, but I express my mind as I believe is right, and I follow my conscience as I believe is right." The Salt Lake Tribune's Bryan Schott captured Romney's speech and posted it on YouTube.
Later in the day, a motion to censure Romney failed after a 798 to 711 vote by delegates to Utah's GOP convention, the Tribune reports. Read more at The Salt Lake Tribune.
Subscribe to 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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Book reviews: 'America, América: A New History of the New World' and 'Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson'
Feature A historian tells a new story of the Americas and the forgotten story of a pioneering preacher
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
AI hallucinations are getting worse
In the Spotlight And no one knows why it is happening
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read