Jim Urquhart/Reuters
Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney lambasted Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump as a “phony” during his Thursday morning speech at the University of Utah. The former Massachusetts governor argued that Trump’s campaign promises “are as worthless as a degree from Trump University,” which has been under investigation for fraud. He also suggested Trump is allowing “evil” to trump “good” by accepting praise from Russian President Vladimir Putin and calling George W. Bush a “liar.” He suggested the frontrunner is “playing the American public for suckers” and “has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president.”
As he is wont to do, Trump pre-emptively fired back at Romney early Thursday with a series of tweets, asking, “Why did Mitt Romney BEG me for my endorsement four years ago?” Just last week, Romney told Fox News that the real-estate mogul has been “aggressive in avoiding any discussion of his taxes” and likely is hiding a “bombshell” in his tax returns.
Romney has not yet endorsed a presidential candidate, but suggested Republicans vote for Marco Rubio in the Florida primary and John Kasich in the Ohio primary as means to preventing Trump from gaining enough delegates to secure the party nomination.