Well, folks, the writing isn’t just on the wall—it’s etched in stone, underlined, and double-bolded. The Republican Party belongs to Donald Trump now, and even the staunchest Trump skeptics, like Senator Mitt Romney, are starting to read the room. Romney, the former “Never Trump” standard-bearer, is now telling Republicans to calm down and accept Trump’s cabinet picks because, frankly, Trump is doing exactly what he said he’d do.
Let that sink in.
Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Romney—who’s headed for the Senate exit in January—essentially told critics to quit their whining. “Donald Trump won. He won overwhelmingly,” Romney pointed out. “He said what he was going to do, and that’s what he’s doing.” Love him or loathe him, Romney argued, Trump’s delivering what he promised during the campaign, and isn’t that what voters want from a president?
Romney, once one of Trump’s fiercest Republican critics, now finds himself parroting the kind of pragmatism that Republicans can’t ignore: This is Trump’s party. Get on board or get out of the way. And honestly, he’s not wrong. Ronald Reagan’s famous “80 Percent Rule”—that you don’t call someone a traitor for disagreeing on 20 percent—feels tailor-made for moments like this. If Republicans are going to push Trump’s agenda through Congress and make good on campaign promises, they’ll need every ounce of unity they can muster.
Mitt Romney says we should give Trump and his cabinet picks a chance.
“Donald Trump won. He won overwhelmingly. He said what he was gonna do, and that's what he's doing.
I mean, people are saying, ‘oh, I don't like this appointment or the this policy that he's talking about,’… pic.twitter.com/GAlXGhTTZD
— End Tribalism in Politics (@EndTribalism) December 15, 2024
And let’s not forget: the GOP margins in Congress are razor-thin, especially in the House. Team Trump has maybe two years of runway before the next midterms—two years to lock in as many wins as possible. If history has taught us anything, it’s that Republicans lose big when they splinter, and the Democrats will regroup.
Sure, they’re licking their wounds now after their 2024 drubbing, but give them time. The unifying force of Trump Derangement Syndrome—alive and well—will see them back on their feet, ready to fight tooth and nail against every part of Trump’s agenda.
The truth is, Democrats have always been better at sticking together. For all their wailing about political “tribalism,” they’ve practically perfected it. You’d think Romney’s call for Republicans to unite would be directed across the aisle, but good luck with that.
Now, let’s take a moment to note Romney’s own position here. He’s leaving the Senate and stepping into political uncertainty. Whether this shift in tone is Romney’s final act of GOP reconciliation or an attempt to stake out a new, post-Senate identity remains unclear. But one thing’s for sure: Mitt Romney has seen the light. Trump is the Republican Party for the foreseeable future, and the rest of the political world is orbiting around him.