High-powered Republican “elders” have been taking meetings from New York to DC since learning of Donald Trump’s inevitable nomination.
Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, is among the most mentioned names. Rumors swirling since last week, however, have mentioned possible third-party runs for everyone from Ben Sasse, the outspoken senator who has led a vocal opposition to Trump, to Condoleezza Rice, George W. Bush’s Secretary of State.
The Washington Post reported Saturday that Romney, who said earlier this year that he would not accept the Republican presidential nomination a second time, even at a contested convention, had taken meetings with Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard and the man spearheading efforts to run a third party candidate if Trump earns the nod.
“He came pretty close to being elected president, so I thought he may consider doing it, especially since he has been very forthright in explaining why Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton should not be president of the United States,” Kristol told the Post, confirming that Romney had discussed the possibility.
But it seems less likely that Romney would push to be the presidential nominee (or a third party alternative), than that he’d use his position as a party elder to bend those looking for a Trump alternative to his will. According to The Hill, sources close to Romney say he understands the frustration, but that he fears he could lose what clout he has among Republican elite if he pushes for a third chance at the presidency. He has, reportedly, been involved with “several” groups looking to draft a third party candidate, however, which means it’s more likely he’s viewed as a source of wisdom.
His meeting with Kristol, according to political adviser and writer Dan Senor, wasn’t so much about Mitt Romney part three, as it was about getting Romney on board with Kristol’s plan to push Sasse:
The biggest problem with the plan? Sen. Sasse doesn’t want to run for President—at least not as a third party alternative. The young Sasse has plenty of time to pursue his presidential ambitions, but perhaps in another, less fractured, year.
Regardless, Romney is clearly being looked at, among third party enthusiasts, as a kingmaker. He’s been outspoken about his lack of support for Trump, but with no concerted effort to pursue a third party candidate—that person would need to do so well that neither the Republican nor Democrat received 270 electoral votes—there’s always the possibility that his ambitions could turn. Until then, it seems, he’ll serve as the de facto central figure of the #NeverTrump movement.