While other members of the Republican establishment appear to be rallying behind Mr Trump, the party’s presumptive nominee for the White House, Mr Romney is showing no signs of relenting. When Blitzer suggested Libertarian Gary Johnson, Romney said that there were issues, such as drug legalization, on which he and Johnson don’t see eye-to-eye.
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“I’m not interested in going and being part of a crowd and following”, said John Rakolta Jr. of MI, a national finance co-chairman of Romney’s campaigns who is not supporting Trump. Romney said he is going to have to take a long look at Johnson since he doesn’t agree with the legalization of recreation marijuana use-or the overall legalization of narcotics.
“I wish everybody in the Republican Party had rejected Mr. Trump and chosen someone else”, Romney said.
Romney himself is at the center of the summit and is one of the leaders being called on by insiders to challenge Trump in a third-party bid-though, so far he has declined, instead imploring others to run.
“I thought it was time for someone new”.
“This is a person that never had his personal life subject to an audit that can be potentially prosecuted by individuals that are assessing whether it is improperly stated”, Romney said.
Head of the Republican National Committee Reince Priebus is scheduled to speak at the E2 summit Saturday morning where he is expected to encourage the group, many of whom are Republican donors, to ensure the party has the tools it needs to win in November, including funding for a superior data operation and get-out-the-vote effort.
“They say he’s going to bring out 10 to 15 million voters who never vote”.
He’s also not confident that Trump will release his taxes.
“There’s something in those taxes that’s even worse than shooting someone on Fifth Avenue”, Romney jabbed, referencing a joke Trump made about his supporters not leaving him, even if he shot someone.
Romney declined, however, to criticize his 2012 running mate, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who has stood by his own endorsement of Trump despite acknowledging the racism of Trump’s remarks.
“Are you disappointed Paul Ryan has endorsed him?” They’re also uneasy with his controversial comments. For much of the campaign, Republican candidates squabbled to position themselves as the chief Trump alternative. “And they focused their fire on Marco Rubio and others, as opposed to focusing it on the front-runner”.
Romney has steadfastly refused to run again, though the reunion here of his friends and allies is expected to produce some encouragement from well-wishers for him to reconsider, as it has the previous two years here.
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Romney said that it’s not a question of policy, but character for him.
