The claim: Mitt Romney threatened to leave the Republican party and become a Democrat
A July 19 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) claims a well-known politician is potentially joining the opposing party.
“Senator #MittRomney Threatens to Leave Republican Party and Join Democrats,” reads the post.
It received nearly 30,000 likes in less than a week.
Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks
Our rating: False
A spokesperson for the Utah senator told the Associated Press the claim is false. Despite Romney’s criticisms of the party’s embrace of former President Donald Trump, he identifies as a Republican and has filed paperwork for a potential 2024 reelection campaign as such.
Romney filed 2024 paperwork as a Republican
Romney spokesperson Paige Waltz told the Associated Press there is “zero truth” to the claims, which she described as “misinformation spread by online bots.”
A Romney spokesperson declined further comment, referring USA TODAY to the Associated Press article.
Romney spoke of “our party” in a July 24 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, further showing he still identifies as a Republican.
In the column, he encouraged Republican influencers and megadonors to get presidential candidates to drop out of the race if and when it’s clear there is no path to victory. Doing so, Romney argued, would make it possible to have a competitive two-person race and avoid giving Trump “the prize.”
Fact check: Trump can run in 2024 even if charged in classified documents case
Additionally, Romney signed Federal Election Commission paperwork in July that identifies him as a member of the Republican Party.
Romney has been a longtime critic of Trump. He accused the GOP in 2020 of straying from the principles he associated with the party and revolving around Trump, as reported by Politico.
He narrowly avoided censure by Utah’s Emery County Republican Party in March after being accused of “providing aid and comfort” to Democrats for voting twice to impeach Trump, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
USA TODAY previously debunked claims Utah was collecting signatures to recall Romney and that a tweet shows a response from Rep. Paul Gosar after Romney criticized his appearance with white nationalists.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources:
- Wall Street Journal, July 24, Donors, Don’t Fund a Trump Plurality
- Salt Lake Tribune, April 12, Mitt Romney takes first step toward 2024 Senate reelection campaign
- Politico, Dec. 20, 2020, Romney: GOP ‘has strayed’ from what he once knew
- Associated Press, July 21, No, Mitt Romney has not threatened to leave the GOP
- Federal Election Commission, July 14, STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY FILING FEC-1713522
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
