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🇺🇸 FNF News | U.S. Politics & Power
Published: June 16, 2025
By: Khadija Khan, Political Analyst
“Nasty Little Man”: The Long War Between Trump and His Republican Saboteurs
WASHINGTON D.C. — For nearly a decade, the political insurgency that propelled Donald J. Trump to the White House has faced sabotage not just from the predictable halls of liberal opposition—but from within its own Republican ranks. Chief among these dissenters stands one of the most enduring figures of internal resistance: Senator Mitt Romney.
“He’s been a Never Trumper in both policy and temperament since 2015,” said radio host and Trump ally Mark Levin during a June 2024 broadcast. “He never believed in the America First vision. And he’s still bitter Trump didn’t need the establishment to win.”
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, has become the archetype of the **“Respectable Loser Republican”—**one who prefers elite approval over grassroots power. And for the MAGA base, the betrayal has never been forgotten.
The Ghost of 2012: Romney’s Hollow Brand of Conservatism
The turning point came during the 2012 presidential debates, where Romney notoriously pulled punches against Barack Obama in the second round after a promising first debate performance. Critics within the Republican base saw weakness.
When Trump descended the golden escalator in 2015, Romney’s brand of conservatism—globalist trade policies, foreign wars, soft border enforcement, and deference to the media—was already eroding. But instead of evolving with the base, Romney doubled down, becoming one of the few Republican senators to vote to convict Trump during both impeachment trials.
“He stood for nothing and opposed everything,” wrote columnist Mollie Hemingway in The Federalist (Feb 2021). “Romney represents the politics of surrender.”
Bipartisan Bromance: Romney’s Cozy Relationship with Democrats
Despite running as a Republican, Romney has increasingly sided with Democrats on key issues:
- In 2023, he supported the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, including climate initiatives and green subsidies opposed by conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation.
- In 2024, he voted in favor of a revised version of the Respect for Marriage Act, aligning himself with Senate Democrats.
- He continues to support military aid for Ukraine, opposing the rising populist skepticism of endless foreign entanglements.
Romney’s ideological leanings now mirror those of centrist Democrats more than Trump Republicans.
“If Mitt Romney ran in a Democratic primary today, he’d finish third in New Hampshire,” quipped The Blaze’s Daniel Horowitz in a 2024 op-ed.
Temperament Over Truth: Why the Base Never Trusted Him
Beyond policy, Romney’s personal style irks the MAGA movement. Described by Trump as a “sanctimonious stiff,” Romney has consistently cast himself as morally superior—often accusing his own party of degenerating under Trump’s leadership.
“Romney doesn’t want to win. He wants to be admired by the people who hate us,” said Steve Bannon on War Room in 2023.
His denunciation of January 6 participants as “a threat to democracy” won him fawning coverage from The Washington Post—and further alienated him from the Republican base. Polls from Rasmussen in 2024 showed Romney’s favorability among GOP voters had plummeted to just 18%.
A New GOP Without Romney?
In September 2023, Romney announced he would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2024. Many in the populist movement saw it as a belated surrender.
“It took him a decade to realize nobody wanted him around,” said Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on X (formerly Twitter).
His political twilight has brought no shortage of schadenfreude among Trump allies. Still, some warn that Romney’s influence may linger in institutions and donor networks eager to rehabilitate “safe” Republicans.
“Romneyism didn’t die. It just metastasized into Nikki Haley and Asa Hutchinson,” said Pedro Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the American Principles Project.
Conclusion: The Cautionary Tale of the ‘Never Trumper’ Class
Romney’s career may be ending, but the ideological war inside the GOP is far from over. As the 2026 midterms approach and Trump eyes a post-2024 political role—whether as kingmaker or candidate—Romney’s legacy serves as a reminder:
Never Trump was never about saving the party. It was about stopping the people.
And for many in the conservative base, Mitt Romney will forever remain, in their words, a “nasty little man”—the face of a Republicanism that refused to evolve and paid the price.
Sources:
- Hemingway, Mollie. “Mitt Romney Is What’s Wrong With The GOP.” The Federalist, Feb 2021.
- Rasmussen Reports. “Mitt Romney Favorability Poll,” June 2024.
- Levin, Mark. The Mark Levin Show, June 2024.
- Horowitz, Daniel. “Mitt Romney’s Exit Won’t Fix The GOP.” The Blaze, Sept 2023.
- Steve Bannon, War Room Podcast, 2023.
- Official U.S. Senate Voting Records, 2023-2024.
Tags: #MittRomney #NeverTrump #GOP #MAGA #RepublicanCivilWar #FNFNews #Trump2024 #SenatePolitics #RINO #PoliticalCommentary