The president is not trying to hide his clear distaste of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
President Donald Trump tapped members of Congress to serve on the “Opening Up America Again Congressional Group.” In a White House announcement on April 16, several Republican, Democratic, and independent lawmakers were invited to advise on the reopening of the U.S. economy. Romney was not part of the list, despite every other Republican senator being invited.
In a question about Romney not being on the list during Sunday’s White House coronavirus press briefing, a reporter asked Trump if it shows he is “still holding a grudge” against Romney.
“Yeah it does,” Trump quickly answered.
Trump continued, “I’m not a fan of Mitt Romney. You know, I have 52 Republican senators—.” The reporter then interrupted, noting Romney was previously a governor and pressed, “You don’t want his advice?”
“Well, I just don’t think — you know, I’m not a fan of Mitt Romney. I don’t really want his advice,” the president said.
See Trump’s comments below:
“Yeah it does,” Trump says when asked if he still holds a grudge against Mitt Romney after he was the only GOP senator excluded from congressional task force for reopening America.
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) April 20, 2020
“I’m not a fan of Mitt Romney. I don’t really want his advice,” he adds. https://t.co/XZjy4W2xnx pic.twitter.com/AbqGSJyrpE
Trump and Romney have butted heads, especially following the Utah senator breaking from his party and voting for the charge of abuse of power in the president’s impeachment trial. Following his vote, the president criticized the senator.
When he found out the news of Romney’s previous self-quarantining, Trump told reporters at a press briefing, “Gee, that’s too bad.” The president then tweeted when Romney’s test results for the coronavirus came back negative, “This is really great news! I am so happy I can barely speak. He may have been a terrible presidential candidate and an even worse U.S. Senator, but he is a RINO, and I like him a lot!”