Supporters of President Donald Trump were seen harassing Senator Mitt Romney on Tuesday at Salt Lake City International Airport in a video posted on Twitter that went viral.
In the nearly two-minute video posted on Tuesday night, Romney is seen wearing a mask and typing on a laptop sitting alone at the airport when he is approached by a Trump supporter, who calls him “a disgusting shame”.
The video was posted by the Twitter account Qtah – a mashup from QAnon and the state of Utah.
“Utah Patriots pick up Rino (Republican in name only) Romney at Salt Lake City International Airport! He thinks he is above his constituents !!! Hitting openly @realDonaldTrump, ”Says the tweet that accompanies the video.
In the video, a woman off camera walks up to the senator, who asks her to put on the mask a few times before the woman agrees, saying that she will because she wants to “have a chat” with Romney.
Utah patriots pick up Rino Romney at Salt Lake City International Airport! He thinks he is above his constituents !!! Hitting openly @realDonaldTrump!!!
“These people will not be able to walk on the street.”
VOLUME UP! ☝ pic.twitter.com/Lntgozkajx
– Qtah (@ Utah_17) January 6, 2021
“Why aren’t you supporting President Trump?” the woman asks.
Romney replies that there are some things he and Trump agree on.
“Are you going to support him in fraudulent votes?” the woman asks, referring to confirmation by Congress on Wednesday of the Electoral College vote.
“To overturn the election?” Romney asks. “No, I’m not.” The senator refers the woman to a statement he released on Saturday about efforts to contest the election results, which he called “a blatant ploy to reject voters”, which “dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic”.
“We have a constitution, the constitutional process is clear,” Romney told the woman. “I will follow the Constitution and explain it all when we meet in Congress this week.”
The woman continues to confront Romney, telling the senator that he has not supported the president, to which he replies that he “voted as a conservative to represent conservative voters. Period.”
As the woman raises her voice, Romney folds the laptop and leaves.
“Trump is a steamroller,” an off-camera man tells Romney, “his legacy is nothing.”
“You are a joke. An absolute joke, ”says the woman. “It’s a disgusting shame”,
You can hear a man’s voice saying “maybe you want to change”, referring to Romney’s flight.
In another video posted on Twitter late on Tuesday, a group of passengers on the same flight with Romney from Salt Lake City to Washington DC can be heard shouting “traitor”.
“Resign, Mitt,” shouts a woman.
“We love you, Mitt Romney,” shouts another passenger. “You look great, you’re doing great.”
The videos, which went viral, received tens of thousands of responses on Twitter late on Tuesday.
“Only one of the most successful business leaders of his time, the former governor and GOP nominee reading silently at the airport in the course of his public duties – being harassed by ‘patriots’,” tweeted Utah County Commissioner Tanner Ainge. “Romney deserves more respect than that – but he responds with decency and patience.”
“Mitt Romney handled this perfectly, and no one outside of his echo chamber thinks it makes you look good,” said Frank Lutz, a political consultant and host of the Republican Party presidential debate.
“Mitt Romney loses the 2012 presidential election. Senate candidate and wins in 2018. He votes for the impeachment of the president of his own party in 2020. He becomes one of the most powerful people in America in 2021. Quite an arc! ”, Twitt Yair Rosenberg, senior editor of the Jewish news magazine The Tablet.
Mitt Romney loses the 2012 presidential election. He runs for the Senate and wins in 2018. He votes to challenge the president of his own party in 2020. He becomes one of the most powerful people in America in 2021. Quite an arc!
– Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) January 6, 2021
Sports and politics commentator Keith Olbermann tweeted: “Just a reminder, not only will we welcome @MittRomney to the Democratic Party, but if he seeks asylum, I’ll so much apologize to him for 45 minutes and convert to LDS ”.
Just a reminder, we won’t just be welcome @MittRomney to the Democratic Party, but if he asks for asylum, I will apologize to him for 45 minutes and convert to the LDS https://t.co/91g2Pqlh6f
– Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) January 6, 2021
Some Trump supporters, on the other hand, tweeted with approval.
Jack Posobiec, a far-right political activist and correspondent for One American News Network (OAN), said “Romney got on a plane full of MAGA supporters and they started to interrogate him about Burisma” – referring to a Ukrainian gas and reporting links between the company and Hunter Biden.
“Mitt Romney deserves this,” tweeted Brigitte Gabriel, the founder of ACT! For America, a defense group dedicated to fighting what it describes as “radical Islam”.