Mitt Romney Bows Down To MAGA Under Threat

Old school Republican Mitt Romney, once the GOP nominee for president, hasn’t often rowed his boat onto the rising MAGA wave that has crashed — and now largely dominates — what was once referred to as the Party of Lincoln.

Romney disagrees with much of the MAGA/America First agenda — citing a myopic tendency to discount America’s need to play a major role on the world stage that in his view endangers national security. On this front and many others, Romney finds himself at odds with louder MAGA voices like that of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and “embellishment” Congressman George Santos.

(The Utah Senator lit into “embellishment” Congressman Santos on the Congressional floor — “you don’t belong here,” he said.)

Further separating himself from the MAGA faithful, Romney also committed the two other great sins of the MAGA-verse by voting to impeach President Trump and by refusing to go along with the “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen, a fiction it was later revealed even Tucker Carlson didn’t believe.

But all this doesn’t mean Romney doesn’t find himself sometimes rowing a boat that Greene and even Santos are in, too. And when it comes to the prosecution of Donald Trump, Romney surprised many by dipping his wing-tipped toes into MAGA waters, saying he believes the “New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda.”

Romney says the “overreach” in New York creates a threat to the “public’s faith” in the justice system, and sets a “dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents.”

Why would Romney get on board with the MAGA talking points, and equate Trump’s prosecution with Trump’s persecution? The public’s faith in justice may not be the only thing that feels under threat in the new GOP.

Romney is careful to say “no one is above the law” and that he believes “President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office.” On the second point, Romney reasonably wants to defer to the electorate, implying that bad conduct and poor character aren’t in themselves criminal offenses. And fitness for office is something voters decide, he asserts.

But in saying “no one is above the law” Romney reveals his political predicament. He can’t have it both ways. MAGA conspicuously doesn’t say what Romney is saying — MAGA asserts unambiguously that Trump is above the law, and that all legal attempts to hold the former President accountable are politically motivated — “witch hunts” — including the ongoing investigations into potential obstruction of justice in the classified documents case and the alleged inciting of the January 6 riots.

Romney says of the case against Trump in New York: “The charges and evidence will be duly considered and the outcome decided by a jury with an obligation to fulfill its responsibility with the utmost care and impartiality.”

But if the case is tainted politically from the start, as Romney — standing in lockstep with MAGA — asserts, then impartiality isn’t possible.

There is a single main talking point that MAGA uses to defend against potential evidence that their candidate of choice may have committed numerous crimes: MAGA contends that evidence against Trump, even if clear cut, is surfaced only as the result of vengeful people looking for evidence when they shouldn’t be — MAGA says they should leave Trump alone, implying he is above the law.

By using the words “stretched” and “overreach” in his statement, Romney — however he parses it — concurs.

My statement on the indictment announcement: https://t.co/xwP8Y2zi87

— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) April 4, 2023

Here is Romney statement in full:

“I believe President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office. Even so, I believe the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda. No one is above the law, not even former presidents, but everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law. The prosecutor’s overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public’s faith in our justice system.

“The charges and evidence will be duly considered and the outcome decided by a jury with an obligation to fulfill its responsibility with the utmost care and impartiality. The American voters will ultimately render their own judgment on the former President’s political future.

“Finally, it is also incumbent on all elected leaders to discourage violence and anger in response to this situation.”