Senator Mitt RomneyR-Utah, argued that the president Joe Biden I should have forgiven Donald Trump after the Department of Justice brought indictments against the former president and pressured New York prosecutors not to pursue charges against Trump. secret money trial in progress.
In an exclusive interview on “The 11th Hour with Stephanie RuhleRomney expressed dismay in response to Republican lawmakers, including the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. vice presidential prospectsmobilizing in defense of Trump outside the Manhattan courthouse where Trump’s secret trial is taking place.
“What do you think of the Republicans? » Ruhle asked Romney.
Romney, a virulent critic of Trump, said: “I think it’s a terrible mistake for our country to see people attacking our justice system – it’s a huge mistake,” he said. “I think it’s also demeaning for people to try to, apparently, run for vice president by putting on the red tie and standing in front of the courthouse and it’s just that – I would have felt uncomfortable.”
The Utah Republican argued that Biden should have pardoned Trump when the Justice Department announced charges against him and that the president “made a huge mistake” in not pressuring New York prosecutors to drop their charges against Trump. (Presidents can only pardon in federal cases.)
“He should have fought like hell to stop this lawsuit from moving forward,” Romney said, referring to Biden. “It was a win-win for Donald Trump.”
Pressed by Ruhle on whether it was Biden’s job to pardon Trump, Romney said he thought Biden should have taken a cue from former President Lyndon B. Johnson, saying the president could have intervened and urged New York prosecutors to drop the case.
“I’ve been around for a while, if LBJ had been president and he didn’t want something like this to happen, he would have been all over this prosecutor saying, ‘You better not talk about it or I’m it’s going to drive you out of the office,” he said.
Ruhle then noted that Romney favored creating separate but equal branches of government.
“I do. … I mean, you may not agree with this, but if I had been President Biden, when the Justice Department was issuing indictments, I would have given him immediately pardoned… President Trump Why? Well, because that makes me, President Biden, the big guy and the person I pardoned a little guy.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Los Angeles, and several of Trump’s potential vice presidential nominees made public remarks outside the Manhattan courthouse, where Trump is scheduled to attend the trial in of the secret trial against him, expressing their support and loyalty to him. because the trial limits his campaign time. Potential vice presidential picks, including Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, have echoed, without evidence, Trump’s accusations that the trial was an attempt by Democrats for interfering with his campaign.
Biden and Trump on Wednesday agreed to participate in the general election debates in June and September, at least the first of which will not have a live audience. Asked if the debates were important today and if he thought it would influence votes, Romney, who unsuccessfully ran for president against Barack Obama in 2012, said people had “low expectations” for Biden but “much higher expectations” for Trump.
“The image that comes to mind is these two old Muppets guys, you know, who were sitting in the back – Statler and Waldorf – that come to mind, but I actually think that ‘There will be a huge audience for these debates,’ he said. “I think people have very low expectations for what President Biden will do. I think they have much higher expectations of President Trump and his competitiveness.”
Romney added that he had “good exchanges” with Biden and that Trump “seems energetic and forceful” at his rallies, but he isn’t sure what to expect when they face off in the debates.
“You have a cheering crowd and teleprompters you can read, so how are they going to do in person? » Romney said, referring to the presidential campaign rallies. “I don’t know the answer to that question, but I think America is going to be watching us.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
