Mitt Romney Trump Attack Is Start Of His 2016 Candidacy
The Mitt Romney Trump Attack heard ’round the world on Thursday (Feb. 24) came just in time for the Super Tuesday Primary and left many wondering why a Republican candidate, who was endorsed by Donald Trump in 2012, would take the gloves off in going after the current GOP frontrunner.
But really, one does not have to look far to see why Mitt Romney called for Trump to release his tax returns when he did.
He said it was because the tax return issue was “near to his heart” after Senator Harry Reid called on him to do the same.
Romney wondered why there hadn’t been any papers from any of the candidates at this point, but saved most of his specific criticisms for Trump.
In comments to Brit Hume of Fox News, Mitt speculated that there could be a “bombshell” lurking in those documents, and he even speculated as to what that “bombshell” might be.
First up, perhaps the papers would show that perhaps Trump isn’t as rich as he likes to say that he is. Secondly, there could be the revelation that Trump paid way less in taxes than he should have. But perhaps the harshest piece of speculation was this: maybe Donald Trump isn’t as giving to the veterans as he has indicated.
Any of these issues could be enough to get certain demographics thinking twice about Trump, but why would Mitt Romney tear down the only guy that seems to be doing well in a general election?
Because, quite simply, that interview was Mitt informally announcing his candidacy for President of the United States. And it was so subtle that not even king of subtlety Donald Trump himself picked up on it.
Why doesn’t @MittRomney just endorse @marcorubio already.
Should have done it before NH or Nevada where he had a little sway. Too late
now!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2016
To answer Trump’s question, Mitt Romney hasn’t endorsed anyone because he sees what most Americans do with the dwindling Republican field.
None of these guys can beat Hillary Clinton. There are too many of them, and Trump has gobbled up too much support from a growing populist base.
What the other candidates may be able to do, however, is keep Trump from getting the required number of delegates that he needs to secure the GOP nomination outright.
That’s where Mitt Romney comes in. As a guy who only one general election cycle ago was able to win the nomination, he has a claim to a divided Republican National Committee (RNC) that already can’t stand their frontrunner as evidenced in the massive spending they are doing towards attack ads (per Politico), provided no one can lock down the number of delegates needed.
The RNC needs an alternative that is electable — someone that all GOP voters could rally behind if Trump falls short by Convention time.
The only problem with this line of thought is something that Trump has already seized on with a barrage of attack tweets on Thursday — the fact that Mitt Romney had his chance in 2012 and blew it.
Furthermore, “screwing” Trump out of the nomination with a dark horse Mitt Romney at the Convention would almost guarantee a Trump third-party run, and if that happened, the GOP would be decimated in November.
One look at Trump’s rallies and the primal enthusiasm and loyalty that his supporters have for him prove that much.
At the end of the day, Romney’s Wednesday attack was designed to set the stage for a divided GOP vote. It’s too late for him to enter the primaries, but the suspicions he raised were enough to make him relevant if things don’t shake out definitively.
That said, what do you think, readers?
Would you vote for Mitt Romney over Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton?
[Image of Mitt Romney via Flickr Creative Commons / davelawrence8]
