Mitt Romney warns Trump turned American politics into 'hate-filled morass' that could inspire 'dangerous action'

Utah senator condemns demagoguery but suggests ‘both sides’ to blame

Senator Mitt Romney arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on 23 September 2020. (REUTERS)

Mitt Romney has lay the blame for the state of American political discourse on Donald Trump as well as Democrats and the media, which have moved the 2020 election from “spirited debate” to a “vile, vituperative, hate-filled morass that is unbecoming of any free nation – let alone the birthplace of modern democracy.”

The Utah Senator blamed the president – for attacks against his opponent Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama – as well as Democratic lawmakers and media figures like Keith Olbermann, which he appeared to blame equally for “rabid attacks” that inspire “conspiracy mongers and the haters who take away the small and predictable step from intemperate word to dangerous action.”

“It is time to lower the heat," he said in a statement on Tuesday. “Leaders must tone it down. Leaders from the top and leaders of all stripes.; parents, bosses, reporters, columnists, professors, union chiefs, everyone.”

The former Republican presidential candidate, who challenged Mr Obama in 2012, argued that Democrats have launched “blistering attacks of their own” but added that "their presidential nominee refuses to stoop as low as others."

“The world is watching America with abject horror; more consequentially, our children are watching,” he said.  “Many Americans are frightened for our country – so divided, so angry, so mean, so violent.”

Senator Romney, the lone Republican in the GOP-controlled body to vote against his party in the president’s impeachment trial, has frequently criticised the administration but faced scrutiny of his own by refusing to distance himself from the party.

Following his statement, he was criticised for suggesting “both sides” of the political spectrum have contributed equally to the current state of politics, comparing elected officials to media figures, and implying Speaker Pelosi’s remarks are as dangerous as the president’s attacks against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer after the FBI broke up an alleged right-wing plot to kidnap her.

The governor has said that the president’s rhetoric was partially to blame for the threat.

The senator’s statement followed a round of the president’s attacks against his Democratic opponent, after Mr Biden referred to Senator Romney as “the senator, who’s a mormon – the governor” while facing a press poll. The president and his campaign accused Mr Biden of forgetting his name.

Senator Romney recently criticised the president for failing to flatly condemn white supremacist violence and right-wing hate groups during the first presidential debate.

"I think he could have been more clear in repudiating any form of white supremacy," he told reporters, adding that the debate itself was an "embarrassment."

He also reacted to the president’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transition of power, should he lose the election.

“Fundamental to democracy is the peaceful transition of power; without that, there is Belarus," he said on Twitter at the time. “Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable.”