Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, thinks it was "a mistake" for President Donald Trump to ask foreign governments to investigate Joe Biden but insists he is not part of a behind-the-scenes effort to remove the commander in chief from office.
Romney spoke with Axios for an interview slated to air Sunday in which he called Trump's requests to Ukraine and China to probe Biden, a former vice president running for the White House in 2020, "shocking."
"It was shocking, in my opinion, for the president to do so, and a mistake for him to do so," Romney said. "I can't imagine coming to a different point of view. We certainly can't have presidents asking foreign countries to provide something of political value. That is, after all, against the law."
In a separate interview with Politico, however, Romney — a frequent Trump critic despite being in the running to serve as his secretary of state — indicated he is not leading a GOP charge to force the president out of office as Democrats in the House continue their impeachment inquiry.
"I don't believe I'm leading a wing of the party. Because there's no wing that's very large that is aligned with me," Romney said.
"Since I've been back, I have not spoken with a single senator about the impeachment process or about the implications of the process that's going on, or how I would vote."
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who lost in the 2012 presidential election, was critical about Trump during the 2016 campaign but was later in the running to serve as America's top diplomat. He then ran for the Senate in 2018 and won, and has spoken out against Trump when he disagrees on his actions.
Most recently, Romney criticized Trump over his "appalling" request for China and Ukraine to probe Biden and for the administration's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria.
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