Romney Has The Right Message About Trump But Is The Wrong Messenger

There's nothing wrong with the substance of incoming Utah Senator Mitt Romney's op-ed about President Trump:


It is well known that Donald Trump was not my choice for the Republican presidential nomination. After he became the nominee, I hoped his campaign would refrain from resentment and name-calling. It did not. When he won the election, I hoped he would rise to the occasion. His early appointments of Rex Tillerson, Jeff Sessions, Nikki Haley, Gary Cohn, H.R. McMaster, Kelly and Mattis were encouraging. But, on balance, his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions last month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office.


It is not that all of the president’s policies have been misguided. He was right to align U.S. corporate taxes with those of global competitors, to strip out excessive regulations, to crack down on China’s unfair trade practices, to reform criminal justice and to appoint conservative judges. These are policies mainstream Republicans have promoted for years. But policies and appointments are only a part of a presidency.


To a great degree, a presidency shapes the public character of the nation. A president should unite us and inspire us to follow “our better angels.” A president should demonstrate the essential qualities of honesty and integrity, and elevate the national discourse with comity and mutual respect. As a nation, we have been blessed with presidents who have called on the greatness of the American spirit. With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable. And it is in this province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring.


Predictably the editorial got under Trump's skin and, true to form, tweeted "I won big, and he didn't".
Romney was even rebuked by his own niece who just happens to be the chair of the Republican National Committee. Ronna McDaniel (formerly Ronna McDaniel Romney) dismissed her uncle as "an incoming Republican freshman senator".


On the surface, Romney's editorial is a profile in courage. The problem here is that Romney has rebuked Trump before only to change his tune. In March 2016, during a speech at the University of Utah, Romney called Trump a phony and said his promises were "as worthless as a degree from Trump University." By November 2016, he was supping with Trump in the hope of being appointed Secretary of State. In February 2018, Romney eagerly accepted Trump's endorsement in his Senate bid.


It isn't that Romney shouldn't criticize Trump. He should. It's just he's not credible choice to lead that charge unless he's prepared to go all in. If Romney wasn't willing to go all in against Obama why would he be willing to go all in against Trump?


If a Republican is going to criticize him in this manner it should be someone who has never praised him like Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse or Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker or at least refused to kiss his ring like former 2016 rivals Jeb Bush or John Kasich. Such criticism should be done so in an effort to challenge Trump for the GOP nomination. Such a challenge will not end well, but better to die standing up than live on one's knees. The best hope in these circumstances is that martyrdom somehow wounds Trump in the general election. Unfortunately, Romney's intervention might very well strengthen Trump.