Mitt Romney (R-UT), who backed Liz Cheney (R-WY) during her Primary race, said he would not consider Cheney running for President in 2024 a good idea, especially after her loss against Trump-endorsed challenger Harriet Hageman.
Romney told the South Valley Chamber of Commerce in Sandy, Utah on Thursday that Cheney would definitively not be the Republican nominee.
“I’m not going to encourage anyone to run for president. I’ve done that myself, and that’s something I’m not doing again. I don’t know if she really wants to do that. She would not become the nominee if she were to run. I can’t imagine that would occur,” Romney said alongside Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. John Curtis, UT-03, the Deseret News reported.
Before Tuesday, the Utah Republican told Business Insider he hoped she would win her primary but “I recognize that in the time of Trump that may not be possible.”
Cheney, who has relentlessly attacked former President Trump for his involvement in the January 6th Capitol Riot, has yet to officially announce whether or not she is running for President. The 6-term Wyoming Rep. did hint at the idea, however, during her concession speech on Tuesday.
Despite Liz Cheney losing her primary race by a catastrophic landslide due to her anti-Trump rhetoric and persistent attacks on the former President, she continues to take jabs at him at every opportunity.
The Wyoming Republican has said her ultimate goal is to prevent Trump from reclaiming the White House.
“I believe that Donald Trump continues to pose a very grave threat and risk to our republic. And I think that defeating him is going to require a broad and united front of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, and that’s what I intend to be a part of,” she told NBC’s “Today” show.
Romney, however, has not been as reckless with his political career as Cheney and admits that Trump winning the nomination is nearly inevitable, unless he decides not to run.
“My party has changed a great deal over the last decade. It will change again over the next 10 years. I can’t tell you how, but I think we’ll have more voices than one at some point,” Romney told The Desert News. “But right now one voice, and that’s President Trump’s voice, is the loudest and the strongest, and bucking him is something people will do at their peril.”
“I don’t think someone who is seen outside the Trump circle would have any realistic chance of becoming the nominee in 2024, barring something I can’t foresee at this stage,” he added. “If he doesn’t run again, I think it’ll be people who either were supporters of his or people who didn’t say much about him and then would be open to become the nominee.”
Both Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney voted to impeach Donald Trump over his role in the Jan. 6th Capitol Riot.
