Mitt Romney unloads on Trump, branding him a phoney, a fraud and a con-man
In ferocious speech, former Republican presidential nominee says he would vote for any of Trump’s rivals rather than the billionaire businessman, as party slides towards civil war
Former US presidential candidate Mitt Romney attacked 2016 Republican front-runner Donald Trump as “a fraud” on Thursday and called for tactical voting in primaries to stop him as the party slid closer to civil war over the outspoken New York billionaire’s White House run.
In an unusually ferocious speech, party elder Romney warned that former reality TV star Trump would likely lose to possible Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the November 8 election if he becomes the Republican nominee.
Trump’s rise has split the Republican Party between mainstream figures like Romney, and Trump supporters who complain the party does not reflect their concerns about illegal immigration, the slow economic recovery and what they see as America’s diminishing role in the world.
That split widened when Romney, the party nominee in 2012, urged Republican primary voters to vote tactically in different states to back Trump’s opponents and block his path to the nomination.
“Here’s what I know. Donald Trump is a phoney, a fraud,” said Romney, 68, who did not endorse any candidate.
