After unleashing a rhetorical assault on the Trump train today, Mitt Romney is reportedly seeking to block Trump at the GOP convention – and seek the nomination himself.
From CNN:
Mitt Romney has instructed his closest advisers to explore the possibility of stopping Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention, a source close to Romney’s inner circle says.
The 2012 GOP nominee’s advisers are examining what a fight at the convention might look like and what rules might need revising.
“It sounds like the plan is to lock the convention,” said the source.
Romney is focused on suppressing Trump’s delegate count to prevent him from accumulating the 1,237 delegates he needs to secure the nomination.
But implicit in Romney’s request to his team to explore the possibility of a convention fight is his willingness to step in and carry the party’s banner into the fall general election as the Republican nominee.
In a speech Thursday at the University of Utah, he urged voters to support the candidate most likely to prevent Trump from racking up delegates in their states — saying he’d back Florida Sen. Marco Rubio if he were voting in the Sunshine State, Gov. John Kasich if he were voting in Ohio, or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the states where he polls as Trump’s strongest foe.
“If the other candidates can find common ground, I believe we can nominate a person who can win the general election and who will represent the values and policies of conservatism,” Romney said.
According to the source, Romney does not expect Rubio, Cruz or Kasich to emerge as the single candidate that can accumulate 1,237 delegates and outright defeat Trump before the convention.
In addition, two senior Republican Party insiders told CNN that the convention scenario is now dominating a lot of conversation in GOP fundraising circles. To be sure, both of these sources are skeptical about Romney being able to execute this plan, but both believe that there is a real attempt underway to try to do this.
Well that escalated quickly.
This will just rile up Trump’s base if they change the rules to let Romney seize the nomination. Can you imagine the pandemonium that would ensue if a demagogue like Trump went to the convention with a majority of delegate votes and they tried to wrestle the nomination from him?
It sure was a nice Republic we had.
UPDATE:
DETROIT —@Greta just broke on air that Romney source says reports of Romney drafting convention plans "NOT TRUE." #GOPDebate
— Kevin Cirilli (@kevcirilli) March 4, 2016
We have the clip of Greta saying Mitt camp denies the rumor HERE!!! Was CNN bamboozled or did Mitt float a lead trial balloon?