Transcripts For CSPAN Sen. 20240703

Live coverage on cspan. The mike on . Check one, two. Mitt you guys have already seen the statement i put out. I dont know i want to repeat that but if you have any questions, im happy to respond to those. Reporter senator romney, why will you not be running . Mitt i considered my age and the fact that at the end of the second term i would be in my mid 80s and i think its time for guys like me to get out of the way and have people of the next generation step forward because theyll be shaping the world theyll be living in. And over the last couple decades, people of my age, the boomers, have done pretty well for ourselves and we voted for all sorts of benefits and programs for us and weve paid for them and think some of the people coming along next want to have a say in how we leave the earth and how they prepare for the future theyre going to live in. Reporter do you feel like with trump being on the ballot next year would give you trouble running for reelection . Senator romney a recent poll in utah showed some very strong numbers and i was pleased to see that. I think people in utah dont agree with me with the posture i took in regards to donald trump but respect people who vote their conscious and i appreciate that and my fellow citizens and i dont have any question in my mind, one, if i would run again, i dont think we need another person in their 80s. Im a little long of tooth already and dont need more like me and the issues of the day relate to china and Climate Change and a. I. And guys in their 80s dont know how to deal with those issues. Reporter you mentioned your age as one of the reasons not running for reelection but a nice way to say to some of your colleagues who are older as a way to step down as well . Senator romney everybody will make their decision and consider their own circumstances. Just looking at my agened where i am, if i knew i was going to be like Chuck Grassley and vigorous and dynamic in my 90s, i might have reached a different decision but you never know. I do thinking the times were living in really demand the next generation to step up and express their point of view and to make the decisions that will shape our american politics over the coming century and just having a bunch of guys who were around the baby boomers who were around in the postwar era, were not the right ones to be making decisions of tomorrow. Reporter can you speak to where the Republican Party is now, when you look the a the Republican Party, particularly where the house of representatives is, do you feel like this is a Republican Party beholden to support President Donald Trump . Senator romney no question the Republican Party is in the shadow of donald trump and hes the leader of the greatest portion of the Republican Party. Its a populist, demagogue portion of the party. I represent a small wing of the Republican Party, i call it the wise wing of the Republican Party and dont think were going away but ultimately will see a resurgence and come back into leadership of the party. Look, my wing of the party talks about policy and about issues that will make a difference to the lives of the American People. The trump wing of the party talks about resentments of various kind and getting even and settling scores and revisiting the 2020 election. What are the policies for the future . And my party is only going to be successful getting young people to vote for us if were talking about the future. And thats not happening so far in that other wing. Reporter so youre going to lose that battle, youre fighting that wing of the party in stepping aside and to add to that, you have said the laws of the party simply do not believe in the constitution. What do you mean by that . Senator romney i was in a rally someone said to me if youre elected when i was running for senate last time, if elected will you close abc, nbc and cbs because theyre not sending out the truth . This is in a republican rally and i was like really . Theres no question theres some portion of my party in the Opposition Party who thinks we need to have a strong person, a strong man to put aside the constitution and for that matter, President Trump, former President Trump said we should put aside the constitution and reinstall him as president. Yeah, there are some people who believe that. I believe theyre sorely wrong and believe the great majority of the American People believe theyre wrong. And in terms of what im going to be doing, look, i want to get more young people voting and involved in the political process and thats something im going to devote myself to after the next year and a half. Reporter who you endorse, congressman owens, and crosby and second, why not stay and fight for what you believe in even if it takes to you your mid 80s . Senator romney because we need young people coming in making decisions. I dont intend to make endorsements. Endorsements are down the john mccain line and not worth a bucket of spit. Who the heck cares who endorsed who, you make a decision as a voter what you think about the candidate and their point of view and vision and dont care about what some other person said. Reporter who do you want to succeed you . Senator romney i hope we get a strong contender and someone a little younger than me. Reporter if you think youre too old, how about President Trump, do you think he should be rerunning . Senator romney if President Biden and trump stand aside. President trump said he was a transitional figure, well, time to transition. David ignatius this morning made a strong argument we should see that kind after change. Both parties would be far better served if they were going to be represented by people other than those of us from the baby boom generation. Reporter some of your bipartisan accomplishments in your statement earlier, are you concerned at all of the ranks of senators at the table forming gangs that are spin ising out . Senator romney we had a group of 10 of us and it dissipated, rob portman is gone, Susan Collins has become the Ranking Member in appropriations and has to be her focus. Then you have cincinnati sinema and man shop and come man chonn and coming together mancion coming together is a important thing. I had an embarrassment of riches initially which as a first term senator i got together with a group of other folks and got a lot of stuff done. A covid relief package when the white house and then Speaker Pelosi couldnt get one done, an infrastructure bill, reform, the electoral count act, liberty protections and the marriage act, safety legislation. We got a lot done which was a lot of fun. Thats kind of unusual. And looking forward i think its going to be more challenging for Something Like that to occur again. Reporter if you could be elected for office again, would you run for office ever again, high office, senate . Senator romney i never imagined running this time and cant imagine doing it again but a old line from dumb and dumber theres a one of a million shots, so youre saying theres a chance . Im not planning for that, i have no future campaigns in mind. Reporter whatever you heard on some of your colleagues on both sides of the aisle, when it comes to missing your participation and leadership on these issues and secondly something youll be a part of initially is another impeachment trial in the senate, this time of president joe biden, whats your response to that . Senator romney ive been heartened today as i received a text from a great number of my colleagues saying theyre going to miss me. I appreciate that. I was heartened by the poll in utah a few weeks ago with a good Approval Rating and feels good but following the George Kastanza lead, you leave when theyre laughing and leave when theyre wishing you to stay and dont want to be in an institution where they say why is he still hanging around . So im going to continue to work over the next year and a half to really address the big three or four issues, immigration, the level of our debt we have, Climate Change strategy and a strategy to deal with china. Reporter what about impeachment, another impeachment trial potentially . Senator romney i know the house is beginning an impeachment inquiry, i havent heard any allegation of something that would rise to the high crime of a misdemeanor. It would be unusual to see a referral of impeachment. I dont expect that to happen. They can inquire and see if theres evidence that shows something else, i dont think theyll find that, i dont know. Theres been no allegation of that and any hint of that has been denied by the president. So im not expecting that to occur. Reporter can you talk about your legacy and how you want to leave as you see people are laughing at you and what would you say to your colleagues laughing . Senator romney i was saying laughing at George Kastanza. Reporter what do you say about Mitch Mcconnell and Dianne Feinstein going through their health and facing criticism to step down . Senator romney in their instance, mr. Mcconnell is the leader of the Republican Caucus and what hes able to do at his age is really extraordinary. Im the first term senator, even as a second term senator i would not be a Committee Chair or Ranking Member but a junior person trying to get stuff done and fight through the regular order of process. I was able to break through that with this gang that came together but hes in a position to make a real difference at his age, which you know, if i was a majority leader of the senate, i might reach a different decision, too, but im not. Reporter in the excerpt from the book at least the leader of mcconnell, are you disappointed by the leadership youve seen in the Republican Party particularly with the impeachment trial and in dealing with trump . Senator romney no, i have a great deal of respect for the leader mcconnell and one mystery is why hes so unpopular in national polls. Hes the cingular reason we have a conservative supreme court, i hope people recognize that. And he also is a very effective leader of our group. When you have 50 people of a republican group, basically 50 of us, every one of whom think they sought to be president , how you lead a group like that is not easy and hes done it with skill and aplum over a number of years. So nothing but the highest respect for him. And theres nothing i know in the book that has been written thats critical of the leader. And personal conversations, the private conversations and public pronouncements, ive been nothing but more impressed. Reporter you say mcconnell trump was an idiot worse than mcconnell [inaudible] senator romney those were not quotes from me but a member of my staff who quoted that so i wont comment. Reporter was it disengine win . Nor romney leader mcconnell thought it was not a great idea on the part of trump to be critical of jury members that were deliberating. Reporter you said it was disingenuous. Senator romney i really do believe many of the people in leadership, meaning elected officials who claim that 2020 was a stolen election, that we need to recount the ballots or whatever other than through the normal judicial process, i think they knew better and ive expressed that numerous times and is not a surprise. Democracy requires belief and credibility in elections and so people who are casting aspersions on our election process are threatening one of the base hes of our very the basis of our very foundation and was critical of that and will continue to be and not surprised to hear it again. Reporter after january 6 are you surprised it happened as part of this election . Senator romney after the next election, whatever happens there will be plenty of people around the capitol to make sure that doesnt happen again. Reporter what will it take for the party to not be so dominant of donald trump anymore . Senator romney you saw a article in Atlantic Young people arent warming to the magga message. I think thats true. Whether trump is there or someone that follows in his footsteps and gives the same populous batter, i dont think it will be successful long term because young people are paying far more attention and wont be sucked into the populous notions and think our party goes back to, if you will, the wise wing of the Republican Party as time goes on. Reporter trump is leading, dominating in the polls, and youre on the outside of the party. Theres no signs at what youre saying. Senator romney im not talking the next two years but the next decade or so. Populism doesnt work. I quote the m. L. Mankin line, to every complex problem there is a solution which is simple, clear and wrong. Unfortunately thats what were hearing. Again, on the trump wing of the party i havent heard policy other than saying were going to build a wall. He was president for four years and built 50 miles. Why didnt he get done . The tax change. That was paul ryan. That wasnt the biden plan but he did it and had a health care plan, everybody would have low Cost Health Insurance that was fabulous. Never proposed. Never saw it. He was in four years. So its not a policy centric approach. If you dont have policy to match your rhetoric, ultimately its not going to be successful. Reporter senator, in that case, in the article, you mention or it mentions that you have spoken to joe manchin about starting a Third Political party, is there any interest or has that died out . Senator romney that was several months ago, senator manchin is looking at no labels at this stage. I cant speak for him. But joe and i speak a good deal and i raised ideas with him. I actually think a Third Party Candidate would make it more likely its just a spoiler and would not be successful in elect ing someone so thats reporter you say you want to step aside and let the new generation come in. What are you doing about that . Senator romney what am i doing about that . Stepping aside. Reporter how are you getting young people into your party . Senator romney i intend to go to College Campuses to encourage young people to run for office and to vote. You know, i dont think theres a way to mandate this and probably wouldnt but i would like colleges and universities to insist the young people vote and make it easy and have voting booths on campus and make sure we get more of the young people because its the world theyll be inheriting. Thanks, guys. Reporter have you talked to President Biden . Senator romney i have. Reporter thank you. Senator romney i was asked if i had spoken to President Biden and the answer is yes and he was very generous and kind in his comments. Reporter senator, thank you. Thank you for your time. Thank you. [inaudible] tonight policy advocates testify on ways to protect children from online sexual abuse and sex trafficking. Watch the House Judiciary Committee Committee Hearing on c pan. Cspan now, our free video app or online at cspan. Org. This fall watch cspans new series, books that shaped america. Watch as we embark with a partnership with the library of congress that has a list of books that shaped america. The 10 bookings featured have provoked thought, won awards and led to significant societal changes and still are talked about today. Hear from featured renowned