Mitt Romney doesn’t hold back when asked about Trump’s $130k payment to Stormy Daniels

‘As far as I know you don’t pay someone $130,000 not to have sex with you’

Mitt Romney did not mince his words when speaking to reporters about former president Donald J Trump’s hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

“I think everyone has made their own assessment of President Trump’s character”, he said on Tuesday. “And as far as I know you don’t pay someone $130,000 not to have sex with you”.

Mr Trump is currently on trial in New York on felony charges of falsifying business records to hide a hush money payment that his attorney at the time, Michael Cohen, made to Ms Daniels to increase his client’s prospects in the 2016 presidential election.

It’s not clear how long the trial will go on but it could last months.

Mr Romney, a former US Republican Senator from Utah and 2012 presidential candidate, has never been one to shy away from his distaste for Mr Trump.

In December, he said he would not support the former president in the 2024 presidential election and would not rule out voting for President Joe Biden if the two of them end up on the final ballot.

“I think we agree that we have looked at his behaviour, and his behaviour suggests that this is a person who will impose his will if he can, on the judicial system, on the legislative branch and on the entire nation”, Mr Romney said on NBC News’ Meet the Press.

“I mean, when he called people to come to Washington DC on January 6 that was not a random date”, he continued, speaking of the 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.

“That was the date when peaceful transfer of power was to occur — he called that on purpose.”

A February poll by Reuters/Ipsos found that a majority of Americans would not vote for Mr Trump if he’s convicted of a felony or serving time in prison before the presidential election.