Mitt Romney is already blowing it

On the disappointing pusillanimity of Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney.
(Image credit: George Frey/Getty Images)

No one joins an ultra-dignified personal carriage to pusillanimity like Mitt Romney: That much we already know. The man from Michigan ... and Massachusetts ... and Utah! ... has rightly been chided, yet again, for sucking up to President Trump, a man he so clearly despises. What's surprising is how, for someone preternaturally attuned to the direction of prevailing ideological winds, Romney is so badly misreading this political moment.

The rollout of his U.S. Senate campaign last week was all about "Utah values" and "respect" for rivals, as opposed to the sordidness and mudslinging of polarized, Trumpified Washington, D.C. McKay Coppins of The Atlantic writes the following of Romney's passive-aggressive, lead-by-example, none-dare-call-it-by-name gambit:

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Scott Galupo

Scott Galupo is a freelance writer living in Virginia. In addition to The Week, he blogs for U.S. News and reviews live music for The Washington Post. He was formerly a senior contributor to the American Conservative and staff writer for The Washington Times. He was also an aide to Rep. John Boehner. He lives with his wife and two children and writes about politics to support his guitar habit.