SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Mitt Romney says choices he made during his political career that were based on expediency rather than his conscience continue to haunt him.
The Utah Republican didn’t specify what those decisions were, but “the fact that there are some things that were not consistent with my fundamental beliefs really grates at me.”
Romney made the admission during an interview for the Israel Summit at Harvard, a universitywide conference that was scheduled for this past Sunday but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Jewish Insider obtained the video interview and posted on its website Monday.
His remarks came in response to a question about his vote to remove President Donald Trump from office and how pro-Israel students at Harvard who fear retribution for their views can speak up.
“I can admit that there have been a couple of occasions where I made a choice which was more expedient than it was based upon conscience. And at the time I convinced myself that what I was doing was the right thing to do. But looking back I recognized — that I probably knew at the time as well in my heart — that what I was doing was politically expedient,” Romney said. “And those decisions haunt me to this day, even though I’ve made myriad decisions since then.”
One of those decisions might be his stance on abortion, which has changed since his 1994 U.S. Senate campaign in Massachusetts.
In a 2007 GOP presidential debate Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, called his one-time support for abortion rights his greatest personal and political mistake, according to a story in the Boston Globe.
“I was pro-choice. I am pro-life. I never said I was pro-choice, but my position was effectively pro-choice. I’ve changed my position,” he said then.
In 2011 op-ed for the National Review, he wrote that he believes abortion should be limited to only instances of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.
In the Harvard interview, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee said he’s decided to not make decisions out of political expediency anymore and call things as he sees them at this stage in his life.
That was never more on display than this past February when he was the only Republican in history to vote to remove a president of his own party in an impeachment trial. Romney invoked his religious faith among the reasons that he voted to convict Trump of abuse of power. His vote had no impact on the outcome.
Trump ridiculed his decision on social media and in speeches. Many in the GOP called for his head.
Romney, who earned a law degree and an MBA from Harvard, said young people who make decisions inconsistent with their fundamental beliefs will not just regret it for a day or two but for the rest of their lives.
“There’s nothing quite as exhilarating and uplifting as being able to speak your mind and speak your conscience even if there are consequences, and particularly when they are consequences of having done so,” he said.
Romney’ first official overseas trip after being elected to the Senate was to Israel. He said Israel is the United States’ most important friend and ally in the Middle East. He supported Trump moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
In the interview, Romney said he’s encouraged by Trump’s Middle East peace plan, though he doesn’t agree with every element of the proposal and noted that much of the Arab world, particularly the Palestinians, have rejected it.
Calling for creation of a Palestinian state as part of the plan is a positive step, he said.
“We have been going for a number of years now without anything on the table — just talking about we wish things will get better,” Romney said. “This president has actually made a proposal and it’s saying, ‘We are willing to sit down and talk.’ I think that’s a positive step as well.”