Romney Op-Ed Met With Mockery: 'That Guy That Ironed A Shirt While Wearing It?'
Sen.-elect Mitt Romney (R-Utah) tried to stand up to President Donald Trump with a Washington Post op-ed decrying his “resentment and name-calling,” and he ended up getting trolled online.
Following the editorial’s publication Tuesday night, Twitter had a field day with Romney’s remarks, one user reinventing the headline to read, “Mr. President, Sir, I am going to vote for every single one of your bills ― but I WILL be frowning.”
Another user recalled the time Romney ironed his shirt sleeve while wearing it, while Bill Kristol, founder of now defunct conservative publication The Weekly Standard, called him the new “leader of the Republican Resistance to Trump.”
Wow brave op-ed from Mitt Romney pic.twitter.com/mD273muPqL
— Jason O. Gilbert (@gilbertjasono) January 2, 2019
Mitt Romney? You mean the guy that ironed a shirt while wearing it? pic.twitter.com/hvNHjZS7Ua
— Scam Likely (@PaulyPeligroso) January 2, 2019
For now at least Mitt Romney has become the leader of the Republican Resistance to Trump.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 2, 2019
That Romney op-ep lost me in the beginning when he listed Jeff Sessions as one of the early Trump appointees who gave him hope the presidency wouldn’t be a disaster. pic.twitter.com/S1zxSsQA1M
— New Year Serota (@maggieserota) January 2, 2019
Trump should be happy w/Romney op-ed. Sure, it’s a condemnation of Trump’s leadership style, but it’s also an endorsement of POTUS’ agenda and an indication Romney plans to support it in the Senate. Romney’s only policy beef? deficits. But he praises tax cut that expanded them.
— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) January 2, 2019
Mitt Romney is 71, has two failed presidential campaigns, has a history of flip-flopping on a wide variety of issues, had an embarrassing episode of pandering to Trump only for it to backfire, and yet... no one in political media is saying he needs to be quiet.
— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) January 2, 2019
Despite the criticism, Romney got this shoutout from departing Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.):
A thoughtful piece by incoming Senator Romney. https://t.co/pKO0wXgbLw
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) January 2, 2019
But he also got this shoutout from Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), who was actually hoping he’d avoid becoming like Flake:
Very pleased GOP Senator-elect Mitt Romney is speaking some truth about @realDonaldTrump. I just hope he isn't another Jeff Flake who says one thing and votes the other way. https://t.co/KqM8aNDOVF
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 2, 2019
However, MSNBC justice and security analyst Matthew Miller offered a different response, giving him props for speaking out and asking that he “be applauded for it” ― and his praiseful message gained some traction on Twitter.
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I get the skepticism over Romney, but we keep demanding R’s speak out against Trump, and he just did. It matters, he should be applauded for it, and I wish more would join him. Now let’s see what he does in the Senate.
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) January 2, 2019
Romney, who will be sworn in this Thursday, raised strong criticisms of the president in his op-ed, contending that Trump “has not risen to the mantle of the office” and that “his character falls short.”
While he took issue with the president’s behavior both domestically and on the world stage, appearing to rebuke his divisive rhetoric and fear-mongering, he simultaneously emphasized his willingness to work with the commander in chief.
“I will support policies that I believe are in the best interest of the country and my state, and oppose those that are not,” he wrote.
You can read Romney’s full article here.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.