U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) has gone to great lengths in recent years to distance himself from the clear majority of his party that aligns with former President Donald Trump.
After a tentative meeting with Trump shortly after the 2016 election, at which point Romney was believed to be a contender to serve as secretary of state, the failed 2012 GOP presidential nominee staked out a decidedly anti-Trump position within the party.
That stance remained firm throughout his term as senator, which he announced earlier this year would not include a re-election bid.
More recently, he sat down for an interview with CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell, during which he railed against Trump and another 2024 Republican presidential primary contender.
Although Romney said he would be “happy to support any one of the Republicans” in the race aside from Trump, he immediately reconsidered, stating that he would probably not vote for entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy either.
“I’d be happy to vote for a number of the Democrats, too,” he declared, suggesting the “would be an upgrade from, in [his] opinion, from Donald Trump and perhaps also from Joe Biden.”
Going on to offer the current president far more deference than Trump, Romney extolled Biden’s supposed virtues despite acknowledging a difference of opinion on policy.
“I find him a very charming, engaging person,” he said of the president. “In some places I agree with him, but in most places I disagree with him. I think he has made all sorts of mistakes.”
Nevertheless, he said he “would like to see someone else run.”
Mitt Romney says he would vote for Democrats over Vivek and Trump
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 25, 2023
The Democratic National Committee has already signaled that Biden would not participate in any primary election debates, but he is facing a Democratic challenger, Marianne Williamson, as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who launched a third-party bid after exiting the Democratic primary last month.
Romney has previously expressed his opposition to the prospect of a 2020 general election rematch next year, including during his public address confirming that he would not be running for another term in Congress.
“The next generation of leaders must take America to the next stage of global leadership,” he said in September.
Shortly before those remarks, he lamented that “we’re probably going to have either Trump or Biden as our next president,” claiming: “Biden is unable to lead on important matters and Trump is unwilling to lead on important matters.”
