--- title: Mitt Romney Calls on GOP Voters to Stop Donald Trump description: "He's playing the American public for suckers." canonical: https://time.com/4246564/romney-calls-on-republican-voters-to-stop-trump/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-03T17:16:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T16:59:58.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Romney Calls on Republican Voters to Stop Trump og:description: "He's playing the American public for suckers." og:url: https://time.com/4246564/romney-calls-on-republican-voters-to-stop-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09d7edf65fc6fa72/6988802cab6d77a6f96a8b43/mitt-romney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3946 og:image:height: 2220 og:image:alt: Former Republican U.S. presidential nominee Mitt Romney speaks critically about current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during speech in Salt Lake City og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Romney Calls on Republican Voters to Stop Trump twitter:description: "He's playing the American public for suckers." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09d7edf65fc6fa72/6988802cab6d77a6f96a8b43/mitt-romney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:28 video:published: 2016-03-03 section: politics topics: Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump, business record, bankruptcies, foreign policy, delegate selection, conservatism, presidential temperament, Trump University genre: speech, political commentary tones: critical, forceful, urgent, sardonic emotions: contempt (high), concern (medium), determination (medium) sentiment: negative audience: Republican voters, political observers, primary voters, news viewers people: Mitt Romney, Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Ted Cruz organizations: Republican Party, Trump University, Trump Airlines, Trump Magazine, Trump Mortgage products: Trump Vodka content_suitability: politics [00:01-02:28]; profanity [00:12-00:12]; financial distress [00:24-00:31] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Romney Calls on Republican Voters to Stop Trump > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=6c566dc6-5143-4327-9d38-58191ced41ad&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Raw: Romney's Speech on Trump [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Raw: Romney's Speech on Trump](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BI9vQbgP.m3u8) (2:28)  _Published 2016-03-03_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Mitt Romney, speaking as a Republican figure, argues against Donald Trump becoming the party's nominee, calling his business record and foreign policy unfit for the presidency. He criticizes Trump's bankruptcies, ventures such as Trump University, and his temperament and judgment. Romney urges Republicans to back other candidates who can defeat Trump in the general election and uphold conservative values. ## Key points - Romney says that if Republicans choose Donald Trump as nominee, prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished. (00:01) - Romney argues Trump's bankruptcies have crushed small businesses and the people who worked for them, and that Trump inherited his business rather than creating it. (00:24) - Romney lists Trump ventures including Trump Airlines, Trump University, Trump Magazine, Trump Vodka, Trump Stakes and Trump Mortgage, and says Trump is not a business genius. (00:31) - Romney says he would vote for Marco Rubio in Florida and John Kasich in Ohio, and for Ted Cruz or whichever contender has the best chance of beating Trump in a given state. (00:56) - Romney says Trump is very, very not smart when it comes to foreign policy. (01:16) - Romney calls Trump a phony and a fraud whose promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. (01:36) - Romney says Trump's domestic policies would lead to recession and his foreign policies would make America and the world less safe. (01:52) - Romney says Trump has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president, and that his personal qualities would mean America would cease to be a shining city on a hill. (02:02) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:56] Romney's case against Trump's business record. Romney argues Trump is not a business success, citing bankruptcies and a list of named ventures. - [00:56 to 01:16] Romney's call for a strategic anti-Trump vote. Romney says Republicans should back whichever rival is best positioned to beat Trump in each state. - [01:16 to 02:28] Romney's attack on Trump's judgment and character. Romney criticizes Trump's foreign policy, personal qualities and fitness for the presidency, ending with a call to choose a nominee. ## Key quotes - [00:01] Romney: "If we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished." - [00:19] Romney: "His bankruptcies have crushed small businesses and the men and women who worked for them." - [01:16] Romney: "I'm afraid that when it comes to foreign policy he is very, very not smart." - [01:36] Romney: "Here's what I know Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud." - [02:02] Romney: "He has neither the temperament nor the judgement to be president" ## Questions this video answers - Why does Romney believe Donald Trump should not be the Republican nominee? [00:01] - Does Romney think Trump is a successful businessman? [00:12] - Which candidates does Romney say Republicans should vote for in specific states? [00:56] - What does Romney say about Trump's foreign policy? [01:16] - What would Romney say Trump's presidency would mean for America's role in the world? [02:00] ## Content suitability - politics [00:01-02:28]: Partisan criticism of a presidential candidate throughout the speech. - profanity [00:12-00:12]: No profanity found; not applicable. - financial distress [00:24-00:31]: References to bankruptcies and businesses that crushed workers. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:59 PM UTCPublished: Mar 3, 2016 5:16 PM UTC by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:59 PM UTCPublished: Mar 3, 2016 5:16 PM UTC Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney called on GOP voters to do anything in their power to stop Donald Trump from becoming their party’s nominee, saying they should vote for whomever is best positioned to defeat Trump in their state. With just weeks to prevent Trump from locking up the nomination, Romney has emerged as one of the loudest voices warning against Trump’s rise, declaring him “a phony, a fraud,” in a 20-minute address at the University of Utah. The no-holds-barred effort represents the GOP establishment’s last stand to halt Trump’s rise. “His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University, “Romney said. “He’s playing the American public for suckers: He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat.” Endorsing a strategy to keep Trump from securing the 1,237 delegates required to win the nomination—but which doesn’t provide anyone else with that figure either—Romney joined the chorus of Republicans seeing a contested convention as the only way to prevent Trump from becoming the standard-bearer of the party. **Read More:** [_Read Mitt Romney’s Speech About Donald Trump_](http://time.com/4246596/donald-trump-mitt-romney-utah-speech/) “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. “Given the current delegate selection process, this means that I would vote for Marco Rubio in Florida, for John Kasich in Ohio, and for Ted Cruz or whichever one of the other two contenders has the best chance of beating Mr. Trump in a given state.” Lambasting Trump’s policy positions as recession-inducing and rewarding “evil,” Romney warned that even a Trump nomination—let alone a presidency—could imperil the nation’s future prosperity. “Donald Trump tells us that he is very, very smart,” Romney said. “I’m afraid that when it comes to foreign policy he is very, very not smart.” Romney’s criticism was also personal, seeking to refute the notion that Trump is a successful businessman—one of the key underpinnings of his support. “But wait, you say, isn’t he a huge business success that knows what he’s talking about,” Romney asked derisively. “No he isn’t. His bankruptcies have crushed small businesses and the men and women who worked for them. He inherited his business, he didn’t create it. And what ever happened to Trump Airlines? How about Trump University? And then there’s Trump Magazine and Trump Vodka and Trump Steaks, and Trump Mortgage? A business genius he is not.” Romney’s comments were designed to offer a model for Trump’s presidential rivals on how to take on the bombastic front-runner, without shame or second thoughts. Romney, who famously praised Trump in 2012 when the businessman endorsed his run, resorted to using many of the same tactics he was victimized by Democrats with in his effort to taking on Trump. The former nominee warned of unfounded “bombshells” in Trump’s tax returns and called on him to release audio from an off-the-record conversation with the New York _Times_ about his immigration plan. After Romney’s speech, 2008 presidential nominee John McCain issued a statement saying that he agrees with Romney and [a recent open letter signed by more than 50 conservative foreign policy experts](http://In a last-ditch effort to stop Donald Trump's likely nomination as the Republican Party's candidate for president,), including former homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff, former deputy secretary of state Robert Zoellick. “I share the concerns about Donald Trump that my friend and former Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, described in his speech today,” McCain said in the statement. “I would also echo the many concerns about Mr. Trump’s uninformed and indeed dangerous statements on national security issues that have been raised by 65 Republican defense and foreign policy leaders.” ## Transcript [00:01] And let me put it very plainly. If we Republicans choose [00:05] Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a [00:08] safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished. But [00:12] you say, wait, wait, wait. Isn't he a huge business [00:15] success? Doesn't he know what he's talking about? No [00:19] he isn't. And no he doesn't. His bankruptcies [00:24] have crushed small businesses and the men and [00:26] women who worked for them. He inherited his [00:29] business, he didn't create it. And what ever happened [00:31] to Trump Airlines? How about Trump University? And [00:35] then there's Trump Magazine and Trump Vodka. And [00:39] Trump Stakes. And Trump Mortgage. A business [00:43] genius, he is not. If the other candidates can find some [00:46] common ground, I believe we can nominate a person [00:50] who can win the general election, and who will [00:52] represent the values and policies of conservatism. [00:56] Given the current delegate selection process, that [00:58] means that I'd vote for Marco Rubio in Florida, and for [01:02] John Kasich in Ohio, and for Ted Cruz or whichever [01:05] one of the other two contenders has the best chance of [01:07] beating Mr. Trump in a given state. Now Donald [01:10] Trump tells us that he is very, very smart. [ LAUGH ] [01:16] I'm afraid that when it comes to foreign policy he is [01:19] very, very not smart. You know we've long referred to [01:23] him as The Donald. He's the only person [01:27] in the entire country to whom we have added an article [01:29] before his name and it wasn't because he had [01:32] attributes we admired. Here's what I know Donald [01:36] Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as [01:39] worthless as a degree from Trump University. [01:41] [ APPLAUSE ] He's playing the members of the [01:44] American public for suckers. He gets a free ride to the [01:47] white house, and all we get is a lousy hat. His [01:52] domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign [01:56] policies would America and the world less safe. He has [02:00] neither the temperament nor the judgement to be [02:02] president And his personal qualities would mean that [02:06] America would cease to be a shining city on a hill. I'm [02:11] convinced America has greatness ahead. And this is [02:15] a time for choosing. God bless us to choose a nominee [02:19] who will make that vision a reality. Thank you and God [02:22] bless you all. Thank you. 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