only 46% of people support mitt romney. ronna mcdaniel, who is mitt romney's niece, said she disagrees with her uncle in a statement saying "the republican party is more united than ever behind him. i along with the g.o.p. stand with president trump." i think the white house was hoping that mitt romney was going to vote to acquit. they are probably not surprised that he's now going to vote to convict. he will go down in history as the first member of the president's own party in u.s. history to vote to convict the president on grounds of impeachment. that puts him in a class all his own. >> dana: he said he understood the gravity of the decision that he hasn't slept past 4:00 a.m. he said it was the toughest decision of his life. we will get more reaction. >> it is going to be rough for him, no question. >> dana: republican senator rick scott of florida joins me now from capitol hill. let me get your initial thoughts on mitt romney giving these comments on the senate floor. >> clearly i disagree with him. i think it's unfor

who voted for mitt romney, some thought they were democrats who voted for mitt romney. the idea that this administration, this white house, donald trump, and the like -- romney mcdonnell has just tweeted, this is not the first time i have disagreed with mitt. president trump did nothing wrong and the republican party is more united behind him. i stand with president trump. she's the chairwoman of the g.o.p. painting mitt romney, a presidential candidate, the niece of mitt romney. >> yeah, she's niece of. >> painting mitt romney a candidate for the g.o.p., presidential nominee, senator from utah, a former governor and the san of a former govern, and a cabinet secretary as somebody on the outside and a maverick. >> yeah. i mean, this is a republican party defined by one person. and when that one person is off the stage, whether he is no longer our president or for whatever reason, not getting re-elected or did get re-elected, where we go from here is going to be an absolutely fascinating topic. >> james, thank you for joining me. phil rucker and carol lenning, thank you a

we chose mitt romney to lead our nation. >> we won't be in this situation with mitt romney in the white house. >> it's time to move on. it's time for a leader who will lead. that leader is mitt romney. >> well, that was then, and today the president's son donald trump, jr., said mitt romney should be expelled from the republican party for being the first senator in history to find the president of his own party guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors. >>> the author of running against the devil. so, mitt romney was their hero and now he's their devil. >> it's a sign of how donald trump the parasite ate the republican party from the inside out and the shell of it still remains that says it's the republican party. everything has to be year zero. everything has to be reset. it's all got to be about donald now. all of these guys today on the floor basically two groups of republican senators. the ones who in private rail against donald trump constantly, and they hate him, and they wish they could have the stones that mitt romney displayed today. they wish they could do it. but they're so fear

we will have much more to say about mitt romney throughout this hour but what mitt romney did was not the most courageous thing that happened on the senate floor today. mitt romney won 62% of the vote in utah and is not up for re-election until 2024 when this vote and possibly even donald trump will be long forgotten. voting against your party is not the only for that of political courage. in fact, when i was working in the senate, that didn't take any courage at all. senators from both parties in the 1990s routinely voted against their parties, and no one thought that was courageous then. but casting a vote in the senate that makes your own re-election more difficult has always been the most politically courageous thing a senator can do. doug jones did that today. doug jones won his senate seat in alabama with 49.97% of the vote in a special election in 2017. he was the first democrat to win a senate seat in alabama since 1992. when richard shelby won re-election as a democrat. but richard shelby found life as a democrat in alabama so impossible that he changed parties two years late

he is free to be mitt romney. he is free to exercise his conscience without having to bend himself into shape. and i really took seriously what he said about his religion and his faith being part of it and being a big motivator for his decision because i know mitt romney. he's not one that wears it on his sleeve he's not out there tweeting bible verses every single day and then violating those principles. he actually lives them. he lives them on a daily basis. i also want to thank his wife anne and his children because he's got a very strong family who support him, who counsel him and who i'm sure told them, it's okay. we know we're going to get attacked, and that's okay. we're willing to do it because we're behind you and because it's the right thing to do. so thank you to the one sole republican with the guts and the intestinal fortitude to do the right thing for the country, not for himself, not for the party. not for a president. >> hard to put a finer point on it than that. >> david? >> yeah, i think at the e

i don't think what mitt romney did was prudent. so i accept that fact that he felt compelled by that, but i don't think he considered all the aspects of what his decision was about. >> he considered the political consequences that would come his way. >> yeah. how about the country? that's what he didn't talk about. he didn't talk about the political consequences of his vote to the country. >> well, he sort of did, rick. he did talk about what compelled him. he talked about his faith. he talked about his conscience. then he talked about why he wanted to vote this way. here he is explaining his vote on -- with chris wallace. watch this. >> it's hard for me to imagine a more serious attack on the constitution and on a republic like ours than saying that a president would be able to enlist a foreign government to corrupt our election so that our president could keep in power. that's what happens in at atocricies. >> i don't believe this was corrupting the election. >> he's asking a foreign government for help. >> he asked the foreign g

>> no, this is exactly who mitt romney is. this is all about mitt romney. he wants everybody to be talking about mitt romney and saying oh, he's -- he puts -- he's not putting country ahead of anything. he puts himself first and always has. >> martha: what are the ramifications in utah? >> it's unfortunately he's not in cycle. unfortunately he has four more years until he has to stand up before the people of utah once again. so we will see if there's a primary opponent. a long four years. >> let me say one thing. being a senator is not the pinnacle of his career. >> but he failed. >> i understand. but unlike a lot of his colleagues, this isn't like the be all and end all. his family is, what he's accomplished otherwise. either he gets primaried and loses or decides who need this, that is okay. he can sleep at night and be true to what he believes. >> martha: he said the worst thing that can happen to you already happened to me. i wanted to be president and i lost. so he's not worried about people -- >> and he moved to utah so he can back into a u.s. senate

so i am interested to see how he handles the mitt romney news. he has gone after him in the past, and so does he start doing that now, because he likes to have an enemy, and mitt romney may be that person. >> and what do you have for impressions here? >> well, the senate was on trial here and there is no question here. goi back to the point that the end was preordained, but the procedure was not. and so not to have witnesses is going to be a question. while arguing for witnesses and against witnesses. pat cipollone in person in the flesh was a different creature than pat cipollone on paper. and patrick philbin in his demeanor just begged for the fact that in order to assess the argument to be made by an individual, you must have that person before you, flesh and blood. adam schiff likewise in the closing arguments which will go down in history as a speech to be studied for generations. his demeanor as well as the words spoke volumes, and so to me, the senate needed to make the decision to bring live people before the chamber either depositions, v

mitt romney replaced him. at the same time there's an awful lot of support for the president in the political class in utah, in the legislature, and the people who are running for governor. there is presently no provision in utah law to recall a u.s. senator. there is now talk on our capitol hill of creating such a provision. there is talk in the legislature today of passing some kind of censure against senator romney because he didn't vote with the president on this matter. >> that's very illuminating, so then to this point i wonder because you heard what the president said about his faith, which of course is mormonism which is the predominant faith there in utah. how is that going to play with voters in utah? >> i don't think it's going to help the president any in utah. we're supposed to call it the church of jesus christ of latter day saints now all the time. >> thank you. >> it is still the dominant religion here. it is less so than it was 20, 50 years ago, but still -- and especially in, again, in politi

that mitt romney, if we see that mitt romney in 2012, it would have been a lot closer. it's that mitt romney, by the way, the inspiration for our television show, "the circus." he did a documentary and we saw that side of him. and it drives me crazy about him, is there's two mitt romneys. there's the romney that governs and has a moral code and conscious. and the romney that campaigns and turns into a pretzel. this is the public servant mitt romney. he is the only person of a party of the president being impeached that voted against a president. >> he made history. >> what is the upside of doing this? laura ingram is going to run against him. his life will be hell for the next five years. >> well, you know, what do you think? they thought it would be bipartisan. it wasn't bipartisan in the way they thought. he has been attacked by a president, the chair of the republican national committee. his niece is going after him. he will be rebuked by the utah republican party. i mean -- >> he is the utah republican party in many ways. he's the one with all of the money, the name

you covered mitt romney a good long time. you came to know the man and i'm curious what part of mitt romney's character was familiar to you in those remarks and stood out plainly and clearly. >> reporter: this was a moment that people who have known mitt romney for a long time have thought that he was capable of and not always seen. right? nobody's won big money betting on mitt romney to take big, bold, public stands. that's not something that he's done in the course of the career but as long as i have known him and covered him and known his family the thought is that he is a good, decent people deep down inside and i thought from the moment they took the oath that swearing an oath before god for mitt romney is like unlocking his superpower. there's no one in that chamber going to take that oath more seriously and more personally. you heard that in his speech. he said he hasn't been able to sleep and obsessive about this and he wanted to call john bolton not to get more evidence that the president was guilty but hoping that b

but he said mitt romney never used it before. i guess he thinks mitt romney has never had any public religious moment before like say when he was running for president and he spent an entire day talking about religion and his life. let me get your reaction to what he said about mitt romney, the man you've known now both as a senator and governor. >> thank you, lawrence. there's one thing that separates donald trump from mitt romney. mitt romney has a conscience, and donald trump does not. and what happened yesterday was that mitt romney voted his conscience. he voted what he felt was in the best interest of our country. he felt that he had to honor the oath which we each had to take before that trial began. and that's what he did. and i think it's hard for donald trump who clearly doesn't understand conscience, doesn't understand an oath to god, doesn't understand how somebody like mitt romney who is as you said a very religious person, as is nancy pelosi. they both bring their religion, their belief in god, the principles that t

but i think that the mitt romney decision and the speech that mitt romney made is something that will go down in history. i think that you cannot underestimate how difficult it is for someone to go against his own party and be the only person doing it, and his own president. >> very important historic chapter closes today with the two votes, but the debate over this is just now going to go to the next chapter which is how does it play out in the presidential election year? how does it play out with the president's mood? we expect to hear from him. his campaign says he is totally vindicated and the house speaker says that you are impeached forever, and that is the debate for the people and beyond the election and to the point that george is making earlier, the president has been acquitted by the united states senate, and double jeopardy does not apply in politics, so as the new revelations come out, the bolton booker to new e-mails or what was reported today that there may be new details, and jerry nadler said they would subpoena john bolton, and that is risky, because it is teeball fo

mitt romney offering a way to wrestle with these emotions. athey're going to be under pressure from both sides. they're going to be listening to their constituencies. even more so they should listen to their conscience and the facts. >> thank you, again. we just got new iowa caucus results in, so let's talk about that. stand by. when you shop with wayfair, you spend less and get way more. so you can bring your vision to life and save in more ways than one. for small prices, you can build big dreams, spend less, get way more. shop everything home at wayfair.com i'm part of a community of problem solvers. we make ideas grow. from an everyday solution... to one that can take on a bigger challenge. we are solving problems that improve lives. >>> a key race moments ago, the iowa democratic party released a little bit more of the results from its caucuses. let's go straight to jeff zeleny in des moines. so i see 75% reporting now. that's a little bit up from what we had before. what's your takeaway from these new numbers, jeff? >> reporter: hey, br

that they have a mitt romney shield now? >> made a cogent case directly, soberly about where he was and laid it out an gives them a lot of cover. >> kirsten in particular. arizona is a state that romney does pretty well. that is a place you can see it for doug jones has, you know -- unless roy moore has a miracle again. you know? i think we know what's there. but what should the democrats do here? you can't look like you're only worried about investigation, investigation, investigation. we know this. i'll tell you this. yesterday speaker pelosi invited a bunch of the anchors after, hers is always on the record. i can say this. she really didn't have to say on impeachment except he'll always be impeached. let's talk about health care. okay? she was done. obviously she was in a not so good mood as we saw at the end. >> i think democrats that pivot back to, again, i said this before. nancy pelosi wanted impeachment because it gets in the way. right? >> well aware of that now. >> it is a shame that to do your job you get punishe

we know mitt romney is back home. he talked very sort of deeply and personally on capitol hill about his faith, about his family, and this decision to break with his party. is he ready, in your view, for the sort of political fallout here from president trump, frankly, and maybe other republicans that's to come? >> well, when i spoke with him the day before his vote, he was already bracing for the backlash. he told me, i know that the president is going to come after me, his allies are going to come after me. it might last a long time, and it's going to be intense. he was kind of hunkered down and ready for it. i do think part of going forward what we should watch is whether he's able to continue to do his job as a republican legislator after taking this vote. he told me he doesn't imagine it's going to be easy to repair his relationship with donald trump, and he's not really primarily concerned with that, but he does want to be able to continue to pass legislation. i will say in utah where he is n now, he's being gre

that's what i saw of mitt romney. his father was huge in the mormon faith as well, and that has guided his life for all of his life really, and guided his family's life. that's what i saw. >> he's going to face, john, a lot, a lot of anger from his fellow republicans and others. let me play you a clip. here is romney explaining why he has decided that the president of the united states should be removed from office. >> the president asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival. the president withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so. the president delayed funds for an american ally at war with russian invaders. the president's purpose was personal and political. acco accordingly, the president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust. >> john, he doesn't mince any words. >> no, those are incredibly strong words, and there is no doubt. he was already an outcast in the republican party, and he will be more so now. it is very fair to go back through the history of mit

i think mitt romney did that today. mi know fy of us, we will look act on that vote, when we find ourselves in a situation calling for us to putoury first in ethical votes, we will be inspired by his courage. judy: at the same tim you put a lot of effort and energy into this process over the last several months and to see it, the articles of impchment fall, one of them 19 votes short, the other 20 votes short of convicting the president, removing him from office, what rep. schiff: i talked about this early in the week. are at a place right n where one political party is willing to tolerate a level of misconduct in a president unsurpassed in history as long as it does a president of thr party. that is a dangerous trend for the country. the fact that so many senators of that party were not willing to fulfill their oath in same way mitt romney did is a really indictment of today's gop. notwithstanding, we felt in the house we needed to do our constitutional duty and appeal to that optimism, the founders put in our ability

we're discussing mitt romney's speech. we just heard it, jeffrey toobin, once again, a very powerful rebuke of the president of the united states, saying the president voted in favor of removing president trump from office. >> listening to it a second time, i was struck by something i wasn't struck by the first time. obviously the emotional impact is what sticks with you. but what i picked up the second time was the complete repudiation of everything the president's lawyers said in the house and in the senate. remember the defense, well, this was really about burden sharing with other countries, this was really about fighting corruption. romney had none of that. this was exactly what the house managers said it was. it was an attempt to get dirt on joe biden period. and that was i thought a -- he didn't have to say that in order to reach the verdict that he did, but the degree to which he repudiated the president's position was even more total than i expected. >> i think this gives an indication as to how people -- how peop

and they know mitt romney. they respect mitt romney. this isn't just some garden variety senator that no one has heard of. here's the 2012 republican presidential nominee condemning, in essence, the 2016 presidential nominee of the republican party, who actually became president. >> i want to ask you about that. how is it possible that senator romney found what the president did was grievously wrong? but none of the other republican senators agreed with him. what might that tell us? >> partly, i think romney is secure in his seat in utah. and he has another five years to run on this determiterm. who knows what the situation will be in 2024? i doubt that impeachment of donald trump will be the foremost issue that far into the future. but anybody who has known romney and worked with him over the years understands that his religion, lds, mormon, really does have an impact on his day-to-day life. and he mentioned his belief in god and the importance of his religion a couple times in the speech. and i think it was very sincere. >> so, do the

romney. >> mitt romney makes comments about 47%. he probably sows an apology. >> when you make that comment you are denigrating americans. >> american places of worship contribute top suicide among lesbian and gay youth. >> every known brands of christianity including catholicism is simply wrong. trish: i see, but suddenly he's such a godly man. a man of such character and courage. in the atlantic today, the atlantic reads, a profile in courage. senator mitt romney's decision to vote to convict president donald trump is an extraordinary act. as "time" magazine so illustrated, joining me, mercedes schlapp. you play the tape from 2012 when he was the republican nominee they had it him. he was from a strange religion. now that he joined their side he's a great, great guy that even rosie o'donnell and alissaa milano is cheering on. >> the media is a group of convenience. they love you one day and convict you the next. i think while today while i'm praying for mitt romney, you know, i mean, they have made this decision that he fits the m

so look for mitt romney to do the same. >> i have to interrupt you. the president is now speaking about impeachment. >> i'll be discussing that a little bit later at the white house. we're joined today by two people whose faith inspires us all, our amazing wonderful friend. >> we're going back to that in a moment before we cut in there. he was speaking about speaker pelosi. going to share that in a moment. i want to go back to you, one of your colleagues maureen dowd wrote that the president will be unrepenitent, unleash. what does that look like? >> exactly what you can think. this is the president's best political week, sets him up for potential win in november. but let's also remember that second terms for presidents are usually very fraught terms, and given the president's behavior, if he end up losing the senate and still doesn't have the house, you can see this happen again, another impeachment effort. >> i don't know, i read your book, it feels pretty unleashed. >> long time since president trump had a leash on him. what we have seen through th

maybe i'll start with the speech of senator mitt romney. if i'm not mistaken, you were in the chamber when that was happen. what was going through your mind? >> i had given my remarks just before senator romney, and in my remarks, i wondered aloud about what i would do if i was ever in senator romney's position. i hoped that if a president of my own party had committed the same kind of offense, sacrificing america's security for personal gain, that i would vote to remove them from office. but i admitted at the end of my speech that i wasn't sure. that i worried the partisan temperature was so high in washington that we all have this temptation sometimes to think about party first and country second. and then coincidentally, i look across the chamber and there is mitt getting ready to give his speech. and in some way, he provides an answer, that it is still possible for senators of good conscience to put the nation before their partisan interests. and i think that that speech will stand up for centuries. i think mitt made that speech because

and something happened with mitt romney. whatever you think of mitt romney. i like him. others may not. his character was somehow proof to that infiltration. when it comes time to judge mitt romney in the long arc of history, something mitt romney is clearly thinking about. i think that is judgment that will always matter most. the opposite will matter most to some. >> that is a good point to the political, some are retiring. mitt romney doesn't have a race for a while. if donald trump were to be re-elect, he is out the smash and he will not forget. appreciate your time tonight. thank you. >> thank you. >> we're going to fit in a 30-second break. when we're back, brand new numbers from iowa and a brand new report from new hampshire. new report from new hampshire. i. alexa, start roomba. the lexus es. eagerly prepared for the unexpected. lease the 2020 es 350 for $389 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. lease the 2020 es 350 for $389 a month for 36 months. a peaceful night sleep without only imagine... frequent heartburn waking him up. now that

mitt romney stood up and said, no. he committed an appalling preach of the public trust and the president's responded by posting a vicious video about romney on twitter, by calling him a failed presidential candidate who, if he had tried harder, could have beaten barack obama. his son, donald trump jr., is advancing the idea that he should be expelled from the senate. and by the way, that process only makes the point that adam schiff made that many republicans said they were offended by a couple of weeks ago when he said that the white house had warned your head would be on a pike if you defied the president and his allies are trying to put mitt romney's head on a pike. they're not happy with what happened. we'll see the president around noon, we believe, and i expect that both of those emotions will be on display when he speaks. >> yeah, one thing you rely on, the outrage is situational as always. >> extremely. >> so what are senators saying about the president's acquittal? cnn congressional reporter lauren fox is on

by the way, have you mitt romney. other than mitt romney, you have a lot of people, republicans who are saying, well, what he did was wrong, but -- and they have their but. mitch mcconnell won't even answer the question of whether what he did was inappropriate. >> yeah. that's because, look, mitch has given away the game. it's not about right or wrong much it's about right versus left. it's about winning politically. because he's not -- he doesn't necessarily believe that the president did what was right. i think mitch knows if a democratic president did that, he would be calling for his impeachment on day one and the entire conference would be behind him. that's why you have the contorted explanations by senators. they are being motivated by fear and debrigreed and the desire t, not by what's right. >> senator mcconnell also said he was surprised and disappointed about romney, right? romney's decision to vote to remove president trump from office for abuse of power. it also caught the white house off guard. should th

calling mitt romney a failed candidate. the attacks simply underscoring the elegance of romney's made-for-history speech in defense of it. >> i believe the act he took, an effort to corrupt an election, is as destructive an attack on the oath of office and our constitution as i could imagine. it is a high crime and misdemeanor in the meaning of the constitution and that is not a decision i take lightly. it is it the last decision i want to take. the personal consequences, the political consequences that fall on me as a result are going to be extraordinary. but i swore an oath before god that i would imply impartial justice and that said what the president did was greivisly wrong. >> chuck went after romney about naming him at this morning's prayer breakfast, of all places. and the revenge tour didn't stop. >> i don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. nor do i like people who say i pray for you when they know that's not so. >> you didn't have that slowed down. you can wait fo

bravo, and thank you, mitt romney. anand giridharadas, thank you. >>> stephanie ruhle has an interview with pete buttigieg. and stephen colbert, tweeted ratings for donald trump's state of the union down 21% from last year. maybe it is time to recast the lead? before we go to break, president trump is attending the national prayer breakfast in washington. look at this. wow. >> i wonder, maybe he should show his son's instagram picture of mitt romney, see what the evangelicals think of that. >> we'll be right back. >> we'll be right back how bout no? no. uh uh, no way. ♪ come on. no. no. n... ni ni, no no! only discover has no annual fee on any card. 1917 has been nominated including best cinematography, best director, and best picture of the year. (honk!) i hear you sister. that's why i'm partnering with cigna to remind you to go in for your annual check-up, and be open with your doctor about anything you feel - physically and emotionally. but now cigna has a plan that can help everyone see stress differently. just f

but it was utah republican mitt romney but it was utah republican mitt romney, who'd already sided with democrats in their call for in his party to call for mr.t trump's removal, voting to acquit the president on obstruction of congress, but too ict him on abuse of power. >> the president is guilty of an appallg abusof public trust. kecorrupting an election t oneself in office in perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one's oatof office that i can image. >> nawaz: in a tweet responding to the senatorronna mcdaniel, publican national committee chair and romney's niece, said" this is not rst time i have disagreed with mittand i i, along with the g.o.p., stand. with president trump." >> back on the senate floor mine order leader chuck schumer crit side his colleagues across the aisle. accusing them of supporting the president overhehe truth. >>erdict of this kangaroo court will be meaningless. by refusing the facts, b refusing witnesses and documents, the republion practice has placed a giant terisk, the asterisk of a sham trial next to the acquittal of president trump writt

mitt romney wasn't. but that's what we should expect from our senators. >> i don't know what kind of political backlash he'll have. he's still enormously popular in utah. he's in a different political place, but i don't think there's any question that he could expect anything other than incredible, personal vitriol. but even then what i'm about to put on the screen exceeds what he might have expected. this is from the son of the president of the united states donald trump jr. one of the president's key surrogates. if we can drop the banner here, i think people need to see this. donald trump jr. posted on instagram this picture of mitt romney and it said, mom jeans -- i guess i can't say the word. mom jeans because you're a "p." it's a word i won't say on television. the person i've heard use this word before is donald trump's father when describing where he likes to grab women who will do anything when they meet him, he says. it's appalling that donald trump jr. put that out last night. and mitt romney k

that is mitt romney back in utah. envoeki envo invoking the memory of his father and defending his vote to convict president trump. he called it most difficult decision he has ever had to make. one he tried to avoid. joined by patrick griffin, he worked on romney's 2008 campaign. tell us about the role of his faith in that decision he made on the senate floor. >> you know, i met with him the day before he made that speech, the interview, he told me about the decision he was making. and i talked to mitt romney a lot, like you said, i covered him for nearly a decade. this is by far the most open he was about talking about his faith. most he ever volunteered about his faith. by the way, i share. i'm also a mormon. and even then we very rarely talk about religious matters. but as he was explaining this he was very somber. he was very kind of steadfast. he also just kept -- he spoke intimately and personally about prayer and he was quoting mormon hymns and scripture and you just played that clip of him talking about his fa

his acquittal by viciously attacking nancy pelosi and mitt romney. during a free wheeling speech at the white house and bipartisan come together national prayer breakfast opinion joining me is doug jones, who voted to convict president trump. he's in a tough reelection fight. thank you for joining us. appreciate it. >> always a pleasure, thank you. >> i know you're a man of faith. i want your retoox what the president said about romney and pelosi earlier today. take a listen. >> i don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. nor i like people who say i pray for you. >> the prayer breakfast has been going on since eisenhower. it's typically a bipartisan celebration of faith. what's your response to that? >> a couple things. number one, that's typical of president trump. he has never let anything stop him from stoking the partisan divide in this country. it's a huge problem. everyone know it is. and i think the president makes it a the lot worse. and us think it's pretty disingenuous of him. someone who uses

i yield the floor. >> the republican senator mitt romney. the republican party's nominee for president of the united states in 2012, today, making history of a very different kind. becoming the first senator in american history to ever cast a vote against a president of his own party to convict that president of an article of impeachment and thereby remove that president from office. and of course, senator romney was the only one. on the first article of impeachment, which was abuse of power, senator romney's vote made the tally 52 votes to 48. senator romney did not vote to convict the president on the second article, which was obstruction. and so that vote was 53-47. a perfect party line vote. president trump is impeached. he was impeached by the house of representatives when they passed two articles of impeachment against him. but that's not the end of the process. in the senate, he was acquitted. like his two predecessors, one each from the 19th century and the 20th century. the u.s. could not bring itself to convict. and so the presiden

. >> an emotional speech on the senate floor republican senator mitt romney agreeing with democrats, becoming the only republican to deviate and vote to convict on the first article of impeachment. >> there is still discussion over whether or not to censure the president's actions. it would be a formal reprimand but there are no legal consequences. on capitol hill, lauren blanchard, fox news. >> mitt romney has been a vocal never trumper since 2016 until he found himself on the shortlist for secretary of state position seen here in a now infamous dinner meeting just weeks after the election and nearly four years later the trump legal team member alan dershowitz says romney will still do anything to get ahead. >> mitt romney who i like as governor of massachusetts is wrong constitutionally. the argument he gave against my position is that if a president were to pardon republicans rather than democrats 17 impeachment offense, no it wouldn't be. let me give you proof of that. when george h w bush pardoned weinberger and four other people on the eve of his trial in order to end the iran

we know mitt romney has -- >> how do you know that? >> well, i mean, it is very clear, look, mitt romney has decided that he is going to be that outlier in the republican party. and go against the president. that is just where he has positioned himself. he wants to be more accepted by the corridor and be the senator of the corridor rather than the center of utah. there is the sense with romney that he has, from the begin, even before president trump was elected, he was going to use his faith, his moral ground to make the case against the president, even being elected in the first place. >> well, listen, to be fair, he did sit down with the president as he considered him for secretary of state early on, but, yes, he was the only -- >> he asked for specific favors for the president. so he wanted the president to endorse him for his senate bid because there was a sv rconserve running against him in the primary and the president stood by mitt romney. they did meet at that moment for the secretary of state position and it just shows mitt ro

senator mitt romney is speaking. he has just told the senate he has voted to remove the president from office. does anyone seriously believe that i will consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before god demanded of me? i sought to hear testimony from john bolton not only because i believed he could add context to the charges but also because i hoped that what he might say could raise reasonable doubt and thus remove from me the awful obligation to vote for impeachment. like each member of this deliberative body, i love our country. i believe that our constitution was inspired by providence. i am convinced that freedom itself is dependent on the strength and vitality of our national character. as it is with each senator, my vote is an act of conviction. we have come to different conclusions, fellow senators, but i trust we have all follow the dictates of our conscience. acknowledge that my verdict would not remove the president from office. the results of this senate court

mitt romney of utah stood up and said guilty. and by doing so became the first senator ever to cast an impeachment vote against a president of his own party. in emotional remarks prior to casting his vote and anticipating the backlash that has quickly surrounded him, romney talked about how he arrived at his vote. >> as a senator juror i swore an oath before god to exercise impartial justice. i am profoundly religious. my faith is at the heart of who i am. i take an oath before god as enormously consequential. i knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the president, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision i have ever faced. i was not wrong. >> according to the "washington post," and we quote, "following romney's speech democratic senator brian schatz of hawaii walked off the senate floor in tears and remained speechless for several seconds. he literally restored my faith in the institution, schatz said." the president's son slammed romney for his vote earlier this evening. >> he flip-flopped f

on meant not - o mitt romney wid before this and after this. we disagreed on this one but he is a colleague and a friend, and a tweet from utah, photos of some supporters in his home state. thank you meant for voting to convict. from downtown utah today. your calls and your comments what's ahead, for the house and senate in the wake of the acquittal and reminder tomorrow at noon, we will hear from the president. he is said to make comments about the impeachment trial at the end of the trial tomorrow at noon. we will have that life here on "c-span2". boston, from thai on her other line. good evening. >> thank you for taking my call. first of all, i am well aware of mitt romney, i can't hear you. thank you. i am well aware of mitt romney, i was in boston when he was governor, is a man of god. and i am a born-again christian. i know he is a man of god. he is at my church. we blessed him and prayed over him as he became governor. as he left, his wife, had a john adams bible. given as a gift. i pray that the people of utah, understand his integrity.

mitt romney was the only one who fell for it. on my account, almost one fifth of the republicans disagree with the president that it was perfect. lamar alexander said we didn't need witnesses because we know we did was wrong and didn't need it. a lot of people, a lot of senators like lamar are happy with what mitt romney has done precisely because it lets them off the hook for breaking with the messaging that we've heard relentlessly from the praetorian guard around the trump white house that there was absolutely nothing wrong, that they are suffering from trump directions and tell him if what you thought you did was even remotely inappropriate but we know most of the republicans as ben sasse said think that lamar alexander was speaking for them. you can disagree with romney's decision to convict emma but i think that if you actually did a secret pole of the people in republicans with very few exactions, there >> there are some intuitive 50 republicans elected in congress and mitt romney was the only person to vote this way. mitt

romney and his character, are now praising mitt romney. i find it interesting. that if you are willing to call someone great moral character when it's in your best interest but not in their best interest, maybe you're not doing it properly. i think the president would have loved to have had the party together. it's over. he's acquitted and moves on. >> romney was on fox with chris wallace. let's listen to that. >> you realize, this is war. donald trump will never forgive you for this. >> there's a hymn that's sung in my church, on old protestant hymn. do what is right and let the consequence follow. i am doing in my heart what i know is right. i understand there is going to be enormous consequence. >> scott, we know that donald trump jr. is calling for romney to be expelled from the party. is that acceptable? does it signal a culture of intimidation that requires absolute loyalty to the president with consequences for those that fail to fall into line? >> no. i don't think mitt romney should be expelled from the republican party. it's a bi

calling for him to be expelled from the republican party saying mitt romney is forever bitter that he will never be president of the united states so expect a lot of more similar responses from the president's supporters going forward as we expect his in that it will. heidi thank you very much indeed and so to you but there's the images from the senate listen in again as they reconvene once on pain of imprisonment while the senate of the united states is sitting for the trial of the articles of impeachment exhibited by the house of representatives against donald john trump president of the united states. as a reminder to everyone in the chamber as well as those in the galleries demonstrations of approval or disapproval are prohibited. the majority leader is recognized and should just as the senate is now ready to vote on the articles of impeachment and after that is done we will adjourn the court of impeachment the clerk will now read the 1st article of impeachment article one abuse of power the constitution provides that the house of representatives quote shall have the power sole po

mitt romney. i love rakuten, it's basically free money. it's an easy way to earn cashback on the stuff i'm already buying. sometimes it's 3% sometimes it's 8% but you're always getting cashback. so it's like getting free money. go to rakuten.com and sign up today for a $10 bonus. the new rx. crafted by lexus. lease the 2020 rx 350 for $419 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. ♪ there he is. oh, wow. you're doing, uh, you're doing really great with the twirling. dad, if you want to talk, i have a break at 3:00. okay, okay. i'm going. i'm gone. like -- like i wasn't here. [ horn honks ] keep -- keep doing it, buddy. switch to progressive and you can save hundreds. you know, like the sign says. ♪ >> juan: repost impeachment political battle rages on and some democrats say president trump was not really acquitted. take a look. >> this vote is no vindication, no real acquittal, no victory. >> i am uncomfortable with the word acquitted because that implies there was a full and fair trial. >> there's no vindication

mitt romney is the establishment. they were wrong on china, they were wrong on a rack, they were wrong on immigration, wrong on the housing bubble, wrong on the bailout, wrong on things like harriet myers and david souter. for the g.o.p. establishment it was always about what was good for them personally or their conscience or wall street, not what was good for the average american. for a few brief, shining moments in 2008 and 2012, some of us thought that romney had a solid core. boy, did he fool us. he was a massachusetts liberal in 1994 when he ran against ted kennedy for the senate. then he moved a bit to the right when he ran for governor. then he claimed he was a full-blown conservative when he first ran for president in 2008 and now, like all the other bitter never-trumpers, he would rather see the entire american economy go down the drain then give trump a victory. >> first, i do want to salute mitt romney. >> the verdict of history is going to be on mitt romney's sign. >> he seems to be reaching for the ghost

we learned senator mitt romney had an appalling abuse of power. he says he will vote to convict on abuse of power article of impeachment. in an emotional statement. listen to this. >> i am profoundly religious. my faith is at the heart of who i am. does anyone seriously believe that i would consent to these consequences other than from inescapable conviction that my oath before god demanded it of me? reporter: romney, we'll hear from witnesses and documents that contradicted what he heard from house managers. he said he didn't get that chance. most democratic sentences saying what the president did was wrong, that he should be removed not only from office here but also from the 2020 ballot. here is senator elizabeth warren in iowa before she came back here to d.c. for the vote. >> i think it exposed to the american people just how much republicans in the senate are willing to break the basic understanding of how our government works including what constitutes a fair trial, in order to protect the most corrupt president in history. reporter: republ

plus the white house ramping up attacks against mitt romney. they have sent out a slew of talking points slamming them. and pete buttigieg hits joe biden on his biggest talking point. will it work? let's go out front. good evening, i'm erin burnett. out front, vengeful, that's trump today talking and talking and talking. his victory lap started at a prayer breakfast with this scene. he was holding up newspapers with the headline "acquitted." funny how he hates that newspaper hl he likes it. that did not last long. trump took dead aim at mitt romney for his vote to convict trump and vote to be removed on abuse of power. >> we have some that used religion as a crutch. they never used it before. >> trump attacking mitt romney's faith which is wrong and if there is one thing that is true, it is that when mitt romney said this, there is no doubt he meant it. >> i am profoundly religious. my faith is at the heart of who i am. i take an oath before god as enormously consequential. >> and trump's maligning did not stop today with mitt romney. >> we've

mitt romney is the establishment. they were wrong on china, they wereth wrong on iraq, they were wrong on immigration, wrong on the housing bubble, wrong on the bailout, wrong on things like harriet myers and david souter. for the g.o.p. establishment it was always about what was good for them personally or their conscience or wall street, not what was good for the average american. for a few brief, shining moments in 2008 and 2012, some of us thought that romney had a solid core. boy, did he fool us. he was a massachusetts liberal in 1994 when he ran against ted kennedy for the senate. then he moved a bit to the right when he ran for governor. then he claimed he was a full-blownig conservative when e first ran for president in 2008 and now, like all the other bitter never-trumpers, he would rather see the entire american economy go down the drain then give trump a victory. >> first, i do want to salute mitt romney. >> the verdict of history is going to be on mitt romney's sign. >> he seems to be reaching for the ghos

this is something where mitt romney hit him and hit him hard. chair wrote something really importantly today. he knows what's going on and what he is telling us is this has nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with believes or philosophy or ideology. it's about fear. and what you're seeing here is something that all of us, anybody who survived junior high can relate to, which is there's only a few bullies but there's way more people going along with the bully because they don't want to be the ones bullied and when high school is over, it all looks very different, doesn't it? >> sure does. >> they've already written this. 2,000 historians have weighed in and said this president committed impeachable acts and 24 hours later, mitt romney is the one still trending on twitter. >> your coverage of impeachment for us was amazing.