(NewsNation) — Utah Sen. Mitt Romney says he’d rather vote Democrat than vote for former President Donald Trump or presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in the upcoming primary election.
In a CBS interview Friday, the retiring senator solidified his reputation as a stalwart anti-Trump Republican, saying he would support “anybody” over Trump.
“I’d be happy to support virtually any one of the Republicans — maybe not Vivek [Ramaswamy] — but the others that are running would be acceptable to me, and I’d be happy to vote for them,” Romney said during the interview.
He continued, “I’d be happy to vote for a number of the Democrats, too. I mean, it would be an upgrade, in my opinion, from Donald Trump and perhaps also from Joe Biden.”
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Romney said voting Democrat in the 2024 presidential race would be an “upgrade” from having Trump as president. However, it’s important to understand Romney has at times been a vocal Trump critic, Axios reported.
He voted to impeach Trump twice and has continuously marked the former president as a danger to the country.
The Utah senator also believes that independent candidates will likely lead to Trump’s reelection if they run, taking away voters from other, more moderate presidential hopefuls, the report said.
If elected, Romney said Trump’s second term as president would be “devastating for our country and his character.”
The Republican also clarified he would not be running for president and previously announced in September that he would not seek reelection, sparking a wave of gloating insults from Trump and his allies.
“Mitt Romney, sometimes referred to as Pierre Delecto, will not be seeking a second term in the U.S. Senate, where he did not serve with distinction,” Trump wrote in all caps on Truth Social when Romney announced his retirement, referencing the pseudonym Romney used for a private Twitter account.
Romney, 76, cited his age in his retirement message.
“Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders,” he said. “They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in.”
The Hill contributed to this report.