Former President Donald Trump added insult to injury Monday, cheering Utah Republican delegates who booed Sen. Mitt Romney at the state convention in West Valley City on Saturday.
Trump, who has been permanently banned from most social media outlets, issued an email statement about Romney’s rude reception.
“So nice to see RINO Mitt Romney booed off the stage at the Utah Republican State Convention,” Trump wrote. “They are among the earliest to have figured this guy out, a stone cold loser.”
Email statement from former President Donald Trump on 05/03/2021
Romney was booed by hundreds of delegates on Saturday as he took the stage. He was able to finish his speech only after outgoing party chair Derek Brown scolded delegates.
A few hours after Romney’s speech, Utah Republicans narrowly rejected a bid to censure Romney.
Romney was the lone Republican to vote to convict Trump from office twice after he was impeached by the U.S. House.
The first impeachment came after Trump sought political dirt from Ukraine on his political opponents in order to damage them ahead of the 2020 election. The second impeachment resulted from Trump inciting a mob of his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol in an effort to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.
Romney was the 2012 Republican nominee for president. During that campaign, he won a larger percentage of the national vote than Trump did in 2016 and 2020. Romney won 47.2% nationally in 2012 while Trump captured 46.1% in 2016 and 46.9% in 2020.
In Utah, the gap between Trump and Romney was much greater. Romney won almost 73% of the vote in the Beehive State in 2012, while Trump tallied 45.5% in 2016 and 58.1% in 2020. Romney also reeled in 62.6% during his successful 2018 U.S. Senate campaign. Trump twice lost the national popular vote.
On Sunday, Sen. Susan Collins said she was appalled by Romney’s reception at the hand of Utah Republicans. Former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake also tweeted his support for Romney, saying the party will “come around.”
Romney will not face re-election until 2024.
