Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential nominee, revived his rivalry with President Trump on Tuesday with an op-ed essay in The Washington Post in which he said Mr. Trump “has not risen to the mantle of the office.”
Days before joining a Republican-controlled Senate, and as the 2020 presidential race begins to take form, Romney, the incoming senator from Utah, issued a pointed critique of the president’s character.
“With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable,” he wrote ahead of his swearing-in on Thursday. “And it is in this province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring.”
Romney said Trump’s presidency “made a deep descent” in December and blamed him for the departures of defense secretary Jim Mattis and White House chief of staff John Kelly.
“The appointment of senior persons of lesser experience, the abandonment of allies who fight beside us, and the president’s thoughtless claim that America has long been a ‘sucker’ in world affairs all defined his presidency down,” he wrote.
“On balance, his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office.”
Romney praised Trump’s tax policies, stance on China and appointment of conservative judges but said they were “mainstream” Republican policies.
“To a great degree, a presidency shapes the public character of the nation,” he wrote. “A president should unite us and inspire us to follow ‘our better angels’. A president should demonstrate the essential qualities of honesty and integrity, and elevate the national discourse with comity and mutual respect. As a nation, we have been blessed with presidents who have called on the greatness of the American spirit.
“With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable. And it is in this province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring.”
Source: Agencies
