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.

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