SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 10, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Sen. Mitt Romney spoke out about the election process in a conference with Utah reporters Tuesday afternoon.
“You probably saw my comments over the weekend which is that the president is fully entitled to call for recounts and investigate any irregularities, I think that at this stage it’s likely that President-elect Biden will be inaugurated in January, but the final word has not yet been received from each of the states and until it is, why certainly the president will pursue his legal options,” Romney told reporters over a Zoom call.
Romney also spoke about the possibility of voter fraud.
“I’m sure in a national as large as ours there have been circumstances probably on both sides of the aisle where people voted that shouldn’t have voted or people who got ballots that they shouldn’t have received and voted and sent them in, I presume that happened, but I don’t know that there’s any evidence that’s been presented so far that suggests that that happened in a sufficient number of cases to result in an overturning of the election results as we understand it,” he said.
“But everybody’s entitled to point out those irregularities and cases where people inappropriately voted, that’s fine, I don’t know that I’ve heard people say the election was a fraud or that it was stolen, I think that would be in my view, again, one, not accurate and two, destructive to the cause of freedom. Because look, every nation in the world is looking at America, and watching this election and seeing how we respond, and I think it’s important that we show confidence in our institutions, our ability to investigate cases, and take cases to the courts, and when that’s completed, I think it’s by far the most likely outcome that there will not be a change in the tally, in a substantial way, and there will be a smooth transition of power. That’s what I’m anticipating, I certainly hope that’s the message that we give to the world.”
Romney said that if Biden is sworn in, “I will work with him on items where we could see eye to eye, I’ll oppose his agenda in places where I think it’s wrong, and I think that’s what the people of Utah expect me to do.”
He said he has not been approached to be part of Biden’s administration and that will not be the case. He said reports that Biden has approached him to lead the Department of Health and Human Services are false.
“I’ll be serving this term and, who knows, maybe even another one, representing our great state,” he said.
He was asked by one reporter what the Republican party might look like “in a post-Trump world.”
“He continues, in my view, to have substantial influence within the party, even if he is not re-elected and inaugurated in January, and one, he might decide to run himself or two, he might decide to get behind someone who is running, but I think he has shown that he has a pretty big presence on Twitter, in social media, in the media, so I think he’ll have a big influence,” Romney said.
“The question is, will our party be able to retain, if you will, the blue collar workers that came from perhaps traditional Democrat connections, through unions and so forth, will we be able to retain those who he brought to our party? Will we be able to have a return of some of the suburban women that we lost; these are real questions and it depends on who decides to run in 2024, and what their message might be.
“But I think that President Trump is a singularly capable individual in terms of turning out a base, that got him elected and nearly got him re-elected, so I think if he wants to continue to have a role in the party, he certainly will.”
On Friday Romney tweeted his thoughts about Trump’s request for vote recounts, and about Trump’s statement that the election was rigged against him.
“The President is within his rights to request recounts, to call for investigation of alleged voting irregularities where evidence exists, and to exhaust all legal remedies — doing these things is consistent with our election process,” Romney’s tweet said.
Attacking the election process without any evidence of wrongdoing is not OK, Romney tweeted.
“He is wrong to say that the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen,” Romney’s message continued, “doing so damages the cause of freedom here and around the world, weakens the institutions that lie at the foundation of the Republic, and recklessly inflames destructive and dangerous passions.”
Romney also tweeted Saturday: “Ann and I extend our congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. We know both of them as people of good will and admirable character. We pray that God may bless them in the days and years ahead.”
