The GOP’s last multimillionaire presidential nominee is now taking on the multibillionaire front-runner in this year’s race, and it’s getting nasty already.
Mitt Romney, the party’s 2012 pick who faced stinging questions from Democrats over his personal wealth, has now turned the tables on Donald Trump, saying there’s probably a “bombshell” lurking in the billionaire’s tax returns, which is one reason why he hasn’t released them yet.
An enraged Mr. Trump fired back, saying Mr. Romney was “one of the dumbest and worst candidates in the history of Republican politics,” and suggesting he will release his tax records.
The bizarre exchange marks a return to the political sphere for Mr. Romney, who lost what many Republican analysts said should have been a winnable election against President Obama.
Now Mr. Romney is back, playing the role of spoiler. He has yet to endorse anyone in the race, but has raised eyebrows by targeting Mr. Trump.
Henry Barbour, a member of the Republican National Committee from Mississippi who is backing Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, said, “Romney could have more impact supporting someone than taking on Trump.”
The political world is rife with speculation Mr. Romney will back Sen. Marco Rubio. With Massachusetts’ primary coming up next week, and Mr. Romney’s chief political experience coming as a one-term governor of that state, the timing looks right — albeit late.
“Mitt Romney could have had tremendous influence had he decided to back a candidate earlier in the process, or even now,” said Mike Duhaime, a senior adviser to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s campaign. “Like so many other Republican leaders, he sat on the sidelines rather than pick sides among friends, only to weigh in against a candidate after it may be too late.”
“Many others have done the same choosing not to help any of the candidates who were working hard to gain strength,” he said. “A Romney endorsement would have been very valuable earlier.”
At one point Mr. Romney had pondered his own repeat bid, but concluded last year that there wasn’t enough room for him and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to be in the same race. Mr. Bush’s campaign collapsed over the weekend, and Mr. Romney has now roared back onto the political scene.
This week he urged the candidates to release their tax returns, and took particular aim at Mr. Trump, suggesting he’s hiding something.
“Frankly I think we have good reason to believe that there’s a bombshell in Donald Trump’s taxes,” Mr. Romney said on Fox’s “Your World” with Neil Cavuto.
“The fact that he is so aggressive in avoiding any discussion of taxes — of his taxes, and is not willing to put them out so far, suggests that there’s something in there that he doesn’t want us to see,” he said.
The Romney attack is all the more striking because it’s the same strategy then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, used on Mr. Romney in 2012. Mr. Reid said he’d been assured by those in the know that Mr. Romney used tax loopholes to avoid paying taxes for 10 years.
“Let him prove he has paid taxes, because he has not,” Mr. Reid said at the time. “We already know from one partial tax return he gave us he has money hidden in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and a Swiss bank account. I am not making that up.”
A few weeks later Mr. Romney released his 2011 tax return, as well as summaries of previous returns, showing he did in fact pay taxes — albeit at investment income rates, which are generally lower than average Americans’ income tax rates. Mr. Reid later said he had no regrets about his false accusation.
Mr. Trump, for his part, called Mr. Romney a “Dope!” on Twitter.
“Why doesn’t @MittRomney just endorse @marcorubio already,” he said. “Should have done it before NH or Nevada where he had a little sway. Too late now!” he said.
He also posted a picture that showed him sitting at a desk next to a tall stack of paper with a pen in hand.
“Signing a recent tax return- isn’t this ridiculous?” he said, and later posted, “I’m going to do what @MittRomney was totally unable to do- WIN!”
It is a far cry from 2012, when Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Romney and they shared a chummy moment at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas. Mr. Trump described Mr. Romney as “tough,” “smart” and “sharp,” and Mr. Romney called the endorsement one of his life’s highlights.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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