Trump: I Left Romney Off Virus Panel Deliberately

When President Trump formed a large bipartisan task force on the coronavirus last week, it included every Republican senator except one: Mitt Romney. The reason? President Trump is holding a grudge against the Utah senator and former Massachusetts governor. That isn't speculation from news stories—Trump himself acknowledged it on Sunday. "Does that show you’re still holding a grudge against Mitt Romney?” asked a reporter from the Salt Lake Tribune. “Yeah," said Trump. "It does. Yeah."

A reporter then pointed out that Romney was once a governor. "You don't want his advice?" Trump answered, "Well, I just don’t think—you know, I’m not a fan of Mitt Romney. I don’t really want his advice." Romney was the only Republican senator to vote to convict Trump on one of his impeachment charges, but Politico notes that the bad blood between them goes further back. In the 2016 election, for example, Romney worked to prevent Trump from becoming the GOP nominee. (Trump showed 'mock excitement' when hearing Romney's coronavirus test results.)