David Frum has a point:
The defamation of Mitt Romney by Team Trump over past days foreshadows the defamation of any GOP legislator who shows independence in future
— David Frum (@davidfrum) November 28, 2016
The problem is, of course, that Romney vocally opposed Trump from day one. He made clear time and again that he could not and would not support Trump because he thought him a rude bully without any manners. What’s more, he was convinced that Trump couldn’t win and that he would do great damage to the image of the Republican Party in the process of losing the election.
However, although many didn’t expect it, Trump pulled out a win, which changed everything. Even Romney bowed the knee eventually; he visited Trump, clearly hoping he’d be a serious contender for secretary of State.
And that’s where Romney truly went wrong.
The former Massachusetts governor is a statesman. He took a position before the election that was clear and principled. Once Trump won, he should not have backed down. Instead, he should have simply congratulated Trump for his victory, after which he should have repeated his earlier criticism, adding that he hoped he would be proven wrong.
Now, it’s true that Romney didn’t retract his earlier statements, but he did clearly grovel to Trump. That’s at least how Trump supporters and some prominent members of Team Trump interpreted his meeting with the president-elect.
At the very moment he did so, Romney should have known that he would be singled out for personal attacks and ridicule. After all, if there’s one thing we know about Trump, it’s that he loves taking revenge on those who dared oppose him in one way or another. As Frum also tweeted, it wouldn’t surprise me if Trump is playing Romney like a violin:
If Trump could extract an apology from Romney – and *then* pass him over for SecState – what a triumph! https://t.co/l4DyDL9cnb
— David Frum (@davidfrum) November 28, 2016
The most prominent Trump adviser attacking Romney is (former) Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway. Here are just a few of her tweets:
I did tell him privately. And I’ll respect his decision. Point is the volume & intensity of grassroots resistance to Romney is breathtaking https://t.co/bknmfGZ13a
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) November 27, 2016
Receiving deluge of social media & private comms re: Romney Some Trump loyalists warn against Romney as sec of state https://t.co/HDtpjeJTc3
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) November 24, 2016
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) November 27, 2016
Ben Shapiro explains:
Conway is a gun for hire. Guns for hire do not act on their own. Either the Mercers/Bannon are telling her to smack Romney, or Trump is.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 28, 2016
Is Trump ordering Conway to take out Romney (to make his humiliation complete), or is she working with Steve Bannon (Trump’s chief strategist) and the Mercer family (influential Republican donors who played an important role in Trump’s strategy in the last few months of the campaign)?
My money would be on Trump. After all, Conway can’t emphasize the need for (blind) loyalty while publicly raging against her employer’s upcoming decision at the same time.
From the looks of it, it’s Trump himself who’s encouraging this political assassination of Mitt Romney. The latter could’ve prevented it by simply refusing to meet with the president-elect. Sadly, he smelled power and relented. Major mistake, Mitt: you never — ever! — give in to bullies. When you do, they just become even worse.
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