Romney booed at Utah GOP convention but motion to censure him fails
Senator Mitt Romney was booed on Saturday at the Utah GOP convention, although a motion to censure him over his vote to impeach former President Donald Trump failed.
"You can boo all you like," Romney told the crowd as the outgoing GOP chair tried to deflect, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. "I've been a Republican all of my life. My dad was the governor of Michigan and I was the Republican nominee for president in 2012."
Romney was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Mr. Trump at his February impeachment trial. Romney also voted to convict Mr. Trump on one of two charges against him at his 2020 impeachment trial, becoming the first senator in history to vote to convict a president in his or her own party.
"Aren't you embarrassed?" Romney asked the crowd as he was booed and called a "traitor" and "communist." "I'm a man who says what he means, and you know I was not a fan of our last president's character issues."
Mr. Trump issued a statement taunting Romney on Monday, saying it was "so nice" to see him booed. Since Mr. Trump has been banned from Twitter, he has begun issuing statements similar to his tweets.
"So nice to see RINO Mitt Romney booed off the stage at the Utah Republican State Convention," Mr. Trump said. "They are among the earliest to have figured this guy out, a stone cold loser!"
The motion to censure Romney failed, with 798 voting against to 711 voting in favor, according to CBS Salt Lake City affiliate KUTV. In prepared remarks, Romney said he was "no fan" of President Biden's policies.
"In his inauguration speech, he promised bipartisanship," Romney said. "I guess by bipartisanship he means the Democrats on one side, and the Socialists on the other. This week, he correctly said that China is an existential threat to our democracy. His answer to that is apparently two years of free pre-kindergarten. And, of course, $6 trillion in spending. A lot of which we will borrow from the Chinese."
Romney wasn't the only Republican to be booed at the convention. Utah Governor Spencer Cox was also booed over COVID-19 restrictions.
Senator Susan Collins, who also voted to convict Mr. Trump, said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that she was "appalled" by the booing. "We are not a party that is lead by just one person," the Maine Republican said.
Other Republicans who voted to convict Mr. Trump have also faced blowback from their local parties as the GOP grapples to deal with Mr. Trump's influence. The Wyoming Republican Party voted to censure Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the most prominent Republican in the House to vote to impeach Mr. Trump, and Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois was censured by the state House.