Mitt Romney, the GOP standard-bearer in 2012, delivered one of the loudest warnings to date against the man who may carry the party’s torch in 2016, Donald Trump — using words like “phony” and “fraud” in a speech Thursday intended to rally anti-Trump forces in the party. 
 
 The 25-minute speech at the University of Utah included the type of forceful rhetoric that cannot be unsaid in the event that Trump wins the nomination and Republicans try to coalesce around him. 
 
 It was a startling rebuke by a party leader against a presidential front-runner, just two days after scores of voters across the country chose Trump as their candidate. 
 
 The critique laced into Trump’s character, his policy positions, his business acumen and his temperament, warning that the country’s future was at risk in Trump’s hands. 
 
 It laid traps for Trump as well, baiting the candidate to attack Romney personally to demonstrate he is a bully, daring him to open his tax returns and challenging him to release off-the-record comments he made to the New York Times editorial board about his signature immigration issue. 
 
 “Let me put it plainly, if we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished,” Romney said. “His domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign policies would make America and the world less safe. He has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president. And his personal qualities would mean that America would cease to be a shining city on a hill.” 
 
 It is unknown what Romney’s speech will accomplish in political terms. Trump’s core supporters have stuck with him and often celebrated establishment attacks against their favored candidate. 
 
 Romney’s own struggle to win the party’s 2012 nomination and his ultimate defeat also raises questions about how much influence he still wields among the rank and file. 
 
 “Mitt Romney is a stiff,” Trump said on NBC’s “Today” show Thursday morning. 
 
 But Romney appears to be trying to mobilize a group of Republicans not currently committed to Trump who increasingly say in polls that they might be satisfied with Trump as the nominee. 
 
 For months, party leaders alarmed by Trump’s rise have argued that the best way to defeat him is consolidating the GOP field and uniting behind a single alternative. 
 
 But Romney suggested a new path — urging Republicans to vote for whatever candidate has the best chance to beat Trump in their home state. 
 
 “That means that I would vote for Marco Rubio in Florida, for John Kasich in Ohio and for Ted Cruz or whichever one of the other two contenders has the best chance of beating Mr. Trump in a given state,” Romney said. 
 
 That strategy would prevent Trump from gaining a majority of party delegates on the first ballot at the nominating convention this summer. If no one wins on the first ballot, convention delegates would be released to pick any candidate, allowing them to build new coalitions — or even to choose a compromise candidate like Romney. 
 
 It’s a high-risk strategy, given the likelihood that it would alienate many Trump supporters, who already distrust the Republican establishment. 
 
 Romney tried to insulate himself from any suggestions that his attack against Trump would prop up the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, instead casting Trump in that role. 
 
 “A person so untrustworthy and dishonest as Hillary Clinton must not become president. But a Trump nomination enables her victory,” Romney said. 
 
 South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and others also have begun to argue that the party must distance itself from Trump, even if it costs them the general election. 
 
 “I think the party can survive Donald Trump as long as we don’t lose our heart and soul,” Graham said in an interview with several reporters Wednesday in the Capitol. “We can’t survive if we embrace those things about Mr. Trump that put him outside of the American mainstream. We can survive with him being the nominee and losing.” 
 
 The clash between Trump and Romney, two very wealthy men, is emblematic of the GOP’s internal struggle. Romney once courted Trump and praised him effusively when he won his endorsement in 2012. But since Trump has rallied the angriest elements of his party, he has consciously tried to tear down many of the things Romney has stood for, casting Romney as a horrible candidate who got decimated in his own run for the White House. 
 
 “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!” Trump wrote in one of several tweets and Facebook messages aimed at Romney on Wednesday and Thursday. 
 
 Romney anticipated more attacks in his speech. 
 
 “Watch, by the way, how he responds to my speech today,” Romney said. “Will he talk about our policy differences, or will he attack me with every imaginable low road insult? This may tell you what you need to know about his temperament, his stability and his suitability to be president.” 
 
 Romney warned that Trump’s threats to impose tariffs would kill American jobs, that his refusal to overhaul safety-net programs would lead to deficits and that his foreign policy positions — including his complimentary words for Russian leader Vladimir Putin — would endanger the country and its leadership position in the world. 
 
 In particular, he faulted Trump for “the most ridiculous and dangerous idea of the entire campaign season: ‘Let ISIS take out Assad,’ he said, and then we can pick up the remnants.” 
 
 In what may have been the sharpest insult, he mocked Trump’s business know-how. 
 
 “His bankruptcies have crushed small businesses and the men and women who worked for them,” Romney said, in a critique that echoed Democrats’ attacks against Romney during the 2012 campaign. “He inherited his business; he didn't create it. And whatever happened to Trump Airlines? How about Trump University? And then there's Trump Magazine and Trump Vodka and Trump Steaks, and Trump Mortgage? A business genius he is not.” 
 
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 GOP donors ramp up anti-Trump efforts 
 
 This wasn't the way Chris Christie wanted to make headlines 
 
 Clinton wins by easing Democratic split; Trump wins by exploiting GOP divisions ||||| You guys thought my previous 8,000 posts speculating about a “Romney 2016” campaign were just an elaborate goof, huh? As Bruce Campbell said to his severed hand in “Evil Dead II,” who’s laughing now? 
 
 Dude, it’s happening. 
 
 Mitt Romney will give a speech on the state of the 2016 presidential race on Thursday, his office said. Romney is scheduled to address the Hinckley Institute of Politics Forum at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Thursday morning, according to an advisory sent to reporters. Utah holds its Republican caucuses on March 22, a day after the last scheduled debate in Salt Lake City announced last month. 
 
 “This is not an endorsement or announcement of candidacy,” a source close to Romney tells the Boston Globe. We could have guessed that from the setting. If Romney was jumping in for Rubio, he’d do it at a campaign event in a state that’s set to vote soon, like Michigan, not in a speech out in Utah. And if he’s planning an independent candidacy, he’s certainly not going to announce it before Florida and Ohio vote on March 15th. That would wreck some of Rubio’s (and Kasich’s) anti-Trump support by signaling that Romney thinks the primaries are all but over and it’s time to focus on the general election. 
 
 So no endorsement tomorrow and no independent run — yet. This does, however, look an awful lot like Romney putting himself back on the radar of #NeverTrump conservative voters at the very moment that they’re starting to look around for an “in case of emergency, break glass” candidate. I think that’s the theme he’ll pursue tomorrow: Never Trump. He’s going to say that Trump is unfit for the GOP nomination for a hundred different reasons, from his temperament to his leftish policies to his proclivity for scams like Trump University to his dodging when asked about David Duke in that interview with Tapper. In order to make it clear that he’s not trying to bigfoot the primary candidates and discourage Republicans from turning out to vote over the next two weeks, he may also make a point of saying that Rubio, Kasich, and even Ted Cruz would all be fine and acceptable choices for the nomination. The takeaway, though, will be that conservative voters must have a principled choice available to them in the general election. They can’t be forced to decide between two liberals from New York. He won’t say who that choice will be or that he has any plans to run; it’ll be a pure “conscience of a conservative” speech denouncing Trump. But I think it’ll also be clear afterward that if Rubio can’t close the deal in Florida on March 15th, you may be hearing from Romney again. And the next speech will be a little more concrete than this one. 
 
 Here’s the newest ad from the anti-Trump Super PAC Our Principles. If you don’t like the Republican version of this, maybe you’ll like the Democratic version of it coming this summer better. 
 
 Update: Yep. According to Bloomberg Politics, this speech will be all about Trump. 
 
 Mitt Romney will lay out his case for why Donald Trump shouldn’t be the nominee of the Republican Party in a speech on Thursday in Utah, according to a source with knowledge of the remarks… Romney doesn’t believe Trump is the right person to lead the party, and wants to make his case before the New York businessman can start coalescing party leaders, the source said. Romney probably won’t endorse, or enter the race, the source said. 
 
 Yeah, endorsing Rubio at this stage would be odd if he’s planning to announce an independent candidacy soon. As for freezing party leaders by coming out strongly against Trump, that’s fine but it has a shelf life. If Trump wins Florida and Ohio, a few stern words from the reining nominee tomorrow aren’t going to stop Republican congressmen from climbing onto the bandwagon. Hard to see this as anything other than a declaration that conservatives will have a candidate in the fall, whether that’s Romney or someone else. 
 
 Update: A reader sends this along as a reminder that Romney wasn’t always so sour on Trump. Indeed. I mentioned that yesterday in a post about whether Romney should lead a third-party challenge against him. One of the main arguments against that idea is that Romney accepted Trump’s endorsement in 2012. When exactly did he decide that Trump was so objectionable? He may try to address that in tomorrow’s speech — acknowledging that he “used to” admire Trump but in the past few years has come to see him in a different light. That’s the only way to try to hedge against this clip, which will be used against him often. ||||| Mitt Romney to give speech on state of the GOP race Thursday 
 
 posted at 10:01 pm on March 2, 2016 by John Sexton 
 
 Mitt Romney has announced that he’ll be giving a speech Thursday to discuss the state of the GOP race with a focus on Donald Trump. 
 
 Last week, Romney suggested there could be a possible “bombshell” in Trump’s taxes. On Monday he criticized Trump’s response over the weekend to a question about the KKK, calling it “disqualifying.” 
 
 A disqualifying & disgusting response by @realDonaldTrump to the KKK. His coddling of repugnant bigotry is not in the character of America. — Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) February 29, 2016 
 
 With that as recent history, you won’t be surprised to learn Romney intends to lay out the case against nominating Trump when he speaks at the University of Utah tomorrow. Bloomberg Politics reports: 
 
 With Trump’s convincing victories on Tuesday, the single biggest day of voting in the Republican race, Romney was motivated to make a more formal case against him in hopes of keeping him from coalescing more support, according to a Republican source familiar with Romney’s plans. Romney has voiced criticism for Trump in recent months, including his attack last week on the New York businessman’s refusal to release his tax returns. Romney doesn’t believe Trump is the right person to lead the party, the Republican source said. A number of mainstream Republicans are falling in line with Trump, and Romney wants to speak up before more people go that route, the source said. While making the case against Trump at the Hinckley Institute of Politics Student Forum at the University of Utah, Romney will not endorse one of his opponents, two people familiar with the former Massachusetts governor’s plans said. Romney will, however, praise Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Romney’s comments will be focused on “the state of the race,” likely echoing past criticism of Trump for failing to release his tax returns, and not decisively distancing himself from the Ku Klux Klan. 
 
 Trump is not waiting to hear what Romney has to say. He lashed out at Romney on Twitter Wednesday afternoon: 
 
 Failed Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney is having a news conference tomorrow to criticize me. (1/2) — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 2, 2016 
 
 Just another desperate move by the man who should have easily beaten Barrack Obama. (2/2) — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 2, 2016 
 
 Trump supporters on Twitter have started circulating video of Romney praising Trump: 
 
 This video comes from February 2012 when Trump was endorsing Romney for President. While it’s true Romney is reversing himself on Trump, it’s also true that Trump has reversed himself on Romney. Back in 2012 Trump said, “It’s my honor, real honor, and privilege to endorse Mitt Romney…Mitt is tough, he’s smart, he’s sharp. He’s not going to allow bad to continue to happen to this country that we all love.” 
 
 It’s hard to imagine this is going to have any impact on Trump. If the Pope’s suggestion that Trump is not a real Christian had no discernible impact, how much is the word of a former politician who lost the last election going to matter? Trump will call Romney a loser a few more times and move on. Romney might be more effective if he were to endorse an alternative candidate. As it is he’s not throwing his support behind someone, he’s throwing it against someone. But he’s been doing that for a week already. Has it mattered so far? 
 
 Related Posts:
– One day after Donald Trump cemented his hold on the GOP nomination, Mitt Romney has gotten the rumor mills churning with the announcement that he'll give a speech Thursday morning in Utah about the state of the election. At NBC News, Andrew Rafferty cuts right to the chase with a tweet: "Close (Romney) aide says he won't endorse or get in, but tomorrow's speech 'will be worth covering.'" ABC's Rick Klein had a similar tweet: "Romney is not getting in this race, sources telling us." One safer bet is that Romney will go after Trump, as he has been doing aggressively of late—warning of a "bombshell" in his taxes and calling Trump's response to white supremacist David Duke's praise "disqualifying." The Washington Post suggests Romney's speech will echo one he gave last month in which he said the national electorate was fed up with "the failure of current political leaders to actually tackle major challenges, or to try at least." And given the election year, there's speculation that Romney is remaining visible in case something crazy happens at the GOP convention, as per this line in coverage at CNN: "In Washington, Utah's Sen. Orrin Hatch told CNN, 'If the convention is locked up, there's a possibility' Romney would run for president." At Hot Air, blogger Allahpundit has a similar sentiment: "This does, however, look an awful lot like Romney putting himself back on the radar of #NeverTrump conservative voters at the very moment that they’re starting to look around for an 'in case of emergency, break glass' candidate."