President Trump on Friday night shared an ad tearing into Sen. Mitt Romney and accusing the Utah Republican of trying “to infiltrate Trump’s administration as secretary of State” after the 2016 election.
The ad is from the conservative group Club for Growth and started airing this week, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The narrator in the 60-second video says that Romney’s “cover’s blown, exposed by news reports as a Democrat secret asset.” The clip then shows media coverage of Romney’s failed 2012 presidential bid Trump’s victory four years later.
Romney, who was considered a potential contender for secretary of State after the 2016 election, has emerged as one of the few congressional Republicans to publicly criticize the White House over its Syria policy and Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, which are at the heart of a House impeachment probe.
The Utah Republican excoriated the administration Thursday after Trump announced a five-day cease-fire between Turkey and Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria.
“The announcement today is being portrayed as a victory. It is far from a victory. Serious questions remain about how the decision was reached precipitously to withdraw from Syria and why that decision was reached,” Romney said. “Adding insult to dishonor, the administration speaks cavalierly, even flippantly, even as our ally has suffered death and casualty.”
Critics of the deal have said the cease-fire essentially allowed Turkey to continue its offensive after five days while forcing U.S.-allied Kurds to retreat. Reports have already emerged of fighting near the Turkey-Syria border.
Romney has also expressed unease with Trump’s request to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he investigate former Vice President Joe Biden on unfounded corruption allegations.
“I did read the transcript. It remains troubling in the extreme. It’s deeply troubling,” Romney told reporters last month, referring to a transcript of the July phone call between the two leaders. “Clearly what we’ve seen from the transcript itself is deeply troubling.”
Romney has not garnered many GOP allies in his efforts on Capitol Hill but has earned the ire of Trump over the last several weeks.
“I’m hearing that the Great People of Utah are considering their vote for their Pompous Senator, Mitt Romney, to be a big mistake. I agree! He is a fool who is playing right into the hands of the Do Nothing Democrats! #IMPEACHMITTROMNEY,” Trump tweeted on Oct. 5.
Senators cannot be impeached.
Updated: Oct. 19 at 8 a.m.