The Republican party appears to be imploding before the eyes of millions of registered voters. As Mitt Romney is set to make a speech criticizing Donald Trump, the billionaire real estate mogul is threatening to run as an independent.
Romney's revenge
Former 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney is scheduledto address a crowd of Republican supporters in Utah Thursday afternoon. According to a transcript provided to PBS News on March 3, Romney will not announce his own run for office or an endorsement, but rather attack Trump and urge voters to push back.
Romney calling #Trump ‘phony,’ urging Republicans to shun him https://t.co/73PSG9zsVw
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) March 3, 2016
“Here’s what I know: Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud," Romney says in his prepared remarks.
"His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University,” Romney continues, warning that if Trump is the party's nominee, he predicts that Hillary Clinton will become the next President of the United States and continue the policies of current President Barack Obama.
Trump's threat
Upon hearing about Romney's comments, the former host of "The Apprentice" appeared on Thursday morning's "Morning Joe" on MSNBC. “I am watching television and I am seeing ad after ad after ad put in by the establishment knocking the hell out of me," Trump said, calling the attacks "unfair." Trump then brought up the possibility of running as an independent, which he saidhe "may do," but warned, "if I go, I will tell you, these millions of people that joined, they’re all coming with me."
In regards to Romney's comments specifically, Trump took to Twitter to voice his opinion.
Claiming that Romney "begged" for his endorsement in 2012, Trump didn't hold back his thoughts on the former governor of Massachusetts, stating that he "doesn't know how to win."
Failed candidate Mitt Romney,who ran one of the worst races in presidential history,is working with the establishment to bury a big "R" win!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2016
The Republican National Convention is scheduled for July, and the establishment is running out of time to stop Trump's momentum as the door appears to be closing on the remaining candidates. With Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz battling for the second position, many in the party are hoping one drops out in a last ditch effort to wrestle the nomination away.
