Trump claims he is ‘very proud’ of being the reason Romney is retiring

Former President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that he is the reason Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) is retiring from politics and that he is “very proud” of being so.

Trump made his comment on Romney in a post on social media, in which he referred to Romney as a “total loser that only a mother could love” while also calling him a “RINO,” or a “Republican in name only.” He also referenced the upcoming book Romney is releasing, Romney: A Reckoning, which Trump described as boring and horrible, “much like him.”

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“I am very proud to be the one who forced this Left Leaning RINO out of politics,” Trump’s post read. “He wanted to run sooo badly, but knew he couldn’t win in the great State of Utah without my Endorsement and Support, so he QUIT. His crummy book says nothing good about anybody, other than RINO Paul RINO, who may be worse, and even dumber, than Mitt himself.”

The former president’s criticism of Romney comes after the Utah senator stated in a Sunday interview that Trump represents a “failure of character” for the Republican Party. Romney also stated that Trump’s character is changing “the psyche of our nation and the heart of our nation.”

Romney announced in September that he will not seek reelection for his Senate seat, claiming that his decision not to run again was heavily influenced by his age, along with predicting that a second term in the Senate would be less effective than his first term. Republican candidates seeking Romney’s seat include Mayor Trent Staggs of Riverton, Utah, and state House Speaker Brad Wilson.

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Romney’s new book, scheduled to release on Tuesday, is based on a multitude of interviews Romney has done and also features a look into his diary and journal entries. McKay Coppins, the book’s author, said he interviewed Romney for two years for the book, during which he was told stories about the Senate that were both “extraordinary and damning.”

Earlier this month, it was reported by a source familiar with the book that media personality Oprah Winfrey had suggested an Oprah-Romney ticket in 2020 “to save the country.” However, a spokesperson for Winfrey has since denied the claim, saying she wanted Romney to run as president and was never planning to run for president herself.