As Mitt Romney heads for the exit, he sounds a hopeful note on Trump

SALT LAKE CITY — At the beginning of his final Utah press conference Friday, outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney held up a "Romney" pin from his father's run for governor in Michigan. Romney said he had pockets full of pins, and he'd sell them for $1 a piece to his father's supporters.

Romney sounded several nostalgic notes in the press conference, held as he comes to the end of his single term representing the state in the U.S. Senate, and at the end of a much longer career in public service. Romney sounded ready — cheerful even — to move on.

When asked what he plans to do now, Romney, who is 77 years old, said, "Nothing."

"My time on the political stage is over," he said. "It started here; it ends here."

Romney marks the start of his public service as running the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games. From there, Romney's unique career in public service included representing two states — Massachusetts as governor from 2003-2007, and Utah as senator from 2019-2025 — and making two runs for the presidency, including one as the Republican nominee.

He noted that former presidents and presidential candidates found causes to champion after leaving office — former President George W. Bush works with veterans, former Vice President Al Gore works on climate issues, Bill and Hillary Clinton run the Clinton Foundation. Romney said he hasn't found his cause yet, but said he will likely spend some time with college students.

Before signing off — his term officially ends on Jan. 2 when incoming Utah Sen. John Curtis takes his place — Romney gave a press conference in Salt Lake City, where he spoke about how he feels about the incoming Trump administration, whether he's concerned about Donald Trump taking "retribution" on him, and why the Democrats are in "real trouble."

Mitt Romney: It's Trump's party now

Before the 2024 election, Romney said he wouldn't vote for Trump but that he also wouldn't endorse President Joe Biden, or, later, Vice President Kamala Harris, because he wanted to maintain a role in the Republican Party.

When asked about the current direction of the Republican Party and his role in it, Romney said the party was now Trump's to lead.

"The Republican Party really is shaped by Donald Trump now, and you'll find the House and the Senate members the Republican Party pretty much following what he puts out there," he said.

Romney was also quick to say that his differences with Trump were not primarily over policy but rather over issues of character.

"I have to tell you, I agree with President Trump on most policy issues. There are probably a few that I don't, but overwhelmingly, we're on the same page," he said, pointing out that he voted with Trump more often then fellow Utah Sen. Mike Lee during Trump's first administration.

"I'm a conservative, and he put in place, by and large, conservative policies on public lands, on spending and a number of things. So I agree with a lot of what President Trump will do," he said.

Romney said the areas he had "difficulty" with Trump were issues like his alleged sexual assault, which he was found liable for, and his "relaxed relationship with the truth."

Trump's Cabinet picks so far have shown Trump is "doing what he said he would do," which is "shake things up," Romney said, pointing to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, both former Democrats.

Romney not worried about retribution from Trump

Earlier, according to The Atlantic reporter McKay Coppins, Romney had expressed some concern about Trump exacting retribution on Romney for his criticisms of Trump. But Romney sounded like it wasn't a current worry.

"I think President Trump, in his 'Meet the Press' interview a couple of days ago, or a couple of weeks ago, said he's focused on moving forward. I think that's probably the course he will take. And there's not something in my past that I'm particularly worried about someone taking a look at. I've been pretty careful in my life to follow the law," he said.

After a follow-up question about his impeachment vote and the Jan. 6 committee, Romney continued to say he thinks Trump will look ahead.

"I don't know which things he will actually focus on, or what his team will focus on. I think it would be a missed opportunity for him to ignore his agenda in his first 100 days, for instance, if he spends time going after the past. And I think he's savvy enough to say, 'Hey, I want to get stuff done; I want to be known for having done things,'" Romney said.

With just one term left as president, Romney said he thinks Trump "wants to have a legacy of being admired and respected, and spending your time going after the past is not going to do that as well as getting things passed."

Romney: Trump will stop immigration mess

"I think what you're going to see is he is going to stop the immigration mess," Romney said about Trump. "I mean, how in the world did Joe Biden let immigration become the problem it's become? What was he thinking? I simply can't figure out why they handed such a political issue to the Republicans and to his opponents."

Republicans will have "free rein" in the next Congress to pass tax cuts, he said.

Romney expressed concern over the debt, as he has since he first ran for office in 1994. Some tax cuts are good, he said, and lead to growth, but some will just cost revenue and make it harder for the federal government to balance the budget.

"I mean, I go on and on about this," he said, pointing out the interest on the debt will hit $1 trillion this year, more than the country spends on national defense. "And we're going to pass a trillion a year on to our kids and grandkids. That's not going away."

But Romney said he has "high hopes" for the new Department of Government Efficiency, run by businessmen Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk. "But I don't think they're looking at finding a trillion a year, and that's what we have to do, either in revenue or in spending," he said.

Romney: Democrats started saying 'nutty stuff,' in 'real trouble'

The political realignment, with working class men and women leaving the Democratic Party and migrating to the Republicans, has broken the Democratic Party's traditional coalition, Romney said.

Also, he said, "Elite progressives started saying some absolutely nutty stuff."

"Defund the police in the inner cities. The idea of defunding the police is about as crazy as you're going to possibly hear," he said. "And so they lost a lot of people living in the inner cities, including minorities."

He also listed "open border," and "the whole transgender and biological males competing in girls sports that drove a lot of working families and minorities out of the Democratic Party and moved them towards the Republican Party."

He credited Trump and his "rhetoric" and being good at "drawing them in."

"I think the Democrat Party is in real trouble, by the way, because they've lost their base," he said. "I mean, yeah, they'll do well on campus, and not necessarily with the students, but among the faculty, but they're not doing very well with the voters."

Romney will stick with Republican Party

Romney said he plans to stay in the Republican Party, although he no longer considers himself part of the "mainstream" of the party — more like the "main creek," he quipped.

But he said there's still a place in the GOP for someone like him, someone who follows in the tradition of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and John McCain.

"I'm a conservative. I'm a classic conservative," he said. "My dad used to say that he's as progressive as Lincoln and as conservative as the Constitution, and I've always felt that's a good characterization."

Ultimately, he said, he hopes the Republican Party will return to its principles and a focus on character.

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