Mitt Romney Downplays Concerns About Donald Trump’s ‘Retribution’

Senator Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican, downplayed concerns about President-elect Donald Trump‘s “retribution” against his political rivals in an interview with CNN‘s Jake Tapper Sunday morning.

“Trump has made it clear that he wants to go after his political opponents. He’s talking about members of the January 6 committee should go to jail. Are you worried at all about being a target for retribution, you or members of your family?” Tapper asked the senator on State of the Union.

Romney responded to Tapper: “No, actually I’ve been pretty clean throughout my life. I’m not particularly worried about criminal investigations. I don’t know how much, by the way, of what the president says is hyperbole because there was a lot of ‘this person oughta be jailed and that person oughta be jailed’ that said during the last two campaigns. But I think President Trump is likely to try and focus on the future. People who committed crimes I’m sure will be prosecuted but I think that’s few and far between.”

During an interview with Kristen Welker on NBC News’ Meet the Press last Sunday, Trump slammed the House select committee tasked with investigating the events surrounding the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, which led to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) criminally charging Trump in connection to the riot. The riot broke out after Trump repeatedly claimed that now-President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win was stolen via widespread voter fraud, despite there being no evidence of such claims. Trump has maintained his innocence, saying the case was politically motivated. The case was dismissed without prejudice after Trump won this year’s election.

Trump told Welker that the January 6 committee lied and destroyed evidence, however, there is no evidence to back up his claims. “I think those people committed a major crime,” Trump said, adding, “They should go to jail.”

When asked if he was going to direct his FBI director and his attorney general to “send them to jail,” Trump said, “No, not at all. I think that they’ll have to look at that, but I’m not going to—I’m going to focus on drill, baby, drill,” referring to his energy policy.

Meanwhile, Karoline Leavitt, the spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition, said in a statement emailed to Newsweek late Sunday morning, “President Trump will serve ALL Americans, even those who did not vote for him in the election. He will unify the country through success.”

What Has Romney and Trump Said About Each Other?

Romney has been critical of Trump in the past, and even during Sunday’s interview with Tapper, said, “I’m, as you know, not a supporter of President Trump’s.”

The senator, who will be retiring in January, voted to convict Trump both times after he was impeached during his first presidency. Romney became the first Republican senator ever to vote to convict a president of their own party during Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2020. Romney was one of only seven Republicans to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial in 2021.

Meanwhile, Trump called Romney’s retirement “fantastic news for America, the great state of Utah, and for the Republican Party” when the senator announced in September 2023 that he would not seek reelection.

In October 2023, Trump called Romney “a total loser that only a mother could love” and said, “I am very proud to be the one who forced this Left Leaning RINO [Republican in name only] out of politics.”

Romney, who was the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, told...