Politics

‘Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself’: Romney, again, calls out Trump after latest indictment

"Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so."

By Eli Curwin

June 9, 2023

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Never one to mince words about Donald Trump, who on Thursday announced his federal indictment for mishandling classified documents, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney once again took a shot at the former president.

The day after Trump received the call informing him of the seven charges against him — likely ranging from conspiracy to obstruction of justice — the former Massachusetts governor released a statement saying the former president had the charges coming.

“Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so,” Romney said, after acknowledging Trump should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. “These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest, such as withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine for political reasons and failing to defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection.”

Romney has often called out his fellow Republican — taking a shot at the former president after he was found liable for sexual abuse, for instance — and has repeatedly warned his party against voting Trump the GOP’s 2024 nominee.

“He just is not suited to be president of the United States,” Romney said after Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a New York courtroom last month.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, also an outspoken Republican critic of the former president, said that he doesn’t see the indictment hurting Trump’s 2024 aspirations.

“I think it has almost no impact in the primary,” Sununu told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in a Friday interview. “He’s gonna play the victim card. He’s gonna say it’s politically driven, you know, all of that.”

Sununu’s theory is not unfounded. After Trump was charged with 34 counts of business fraud in April, 80% of polled Republican voters said the charges were akin to a “witch hunt.”

“I think most Republican base voters are just like, ‘Yeah, yeah, you know, we’ve heard this story before,'” Sununu added. “Not a huge impact for the primary, but very, very impactful for the general election if he were to be the nominee.”

Despite Romney’s call-out, the former president has received little blowback from the rest of the 2024 Republican field.

Florida Governor Ron Desantis, who announced his candidacy on Twitter in May, called the indictment a “weaponization of federal law enforcement,” according to The Hill.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who announced his candidacy earlier this month, said in a Friday interview with Hewitt that while “nobody is above the law” and the “handling classified materials is a very serious matter,” he was “deeply troubled to see this indictment move forward.”