Mitt Romney will not seek re-election to Senate in 2024, releases scathing criticism of GOP and Trump

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah announced that he will not seek re-election in 2024, and he released a scathing criticism of many Republicans in the party as well as former President Donald Trump.

Romney made the announcement via a video on his social media Wednesday.

"The next generation of leaders must take America to the next stage of global leadership. While I'm not running for re-election, I'm not retiring from the fight," said Romney.

The 76-year-old also used the occasion to criticize politicians who refuse to leave office despite reaching a very advanced age.

"At the end of another term, I'd be in my mid-80s," said Romney. "Frankly, it's time for a new generation of leaders. They're the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in."

Romney touted his accomplishments in the U.S. Senate as well as in Utah before he criticized both President Joe Biden and Trump about what he thought were inadequate responses to China, the federal debt, and climate change.

Romney was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018 and lost a presidential campaign in 2012 to then-President Barack Obama. He was the only Republican senator to vote to impeach Trump in both of his impeachment trials.

In a media briefing after the announcement, he called on both Biden and Trump to step aside to give other people the opportunity to lead the country.

He also provided a scathing criticism of the Republican Party in the Trump age in interviews he made for The Atlantic. Romney lambasted many Republicans for privately criticizing Trump while publicly defending him in order to hold on to political power. In one quote, he surmised that a great number in the party didn't really believe in the Constitution.

"It really is a profound honor to serve Utah and the country, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so," Romney concluded in his video.

Trump celebrated the announcement from Romney and mocked him in a post on Truth Social.

Here's more about Romney's announcement:

Utahns react to Romney's retirement announcement, thoughts on who else might runwww.youtube.com

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