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

romney's niece, ronna romney mcdaniel said this is not the first time i disagree with mitt. the bottom line is president trump did nothing wrong. the republican party is more united than ever behind him. i have got to imagine everyone's going to watch the predictable kind of nuclear reaction that they will get from trump and the republican party on nips this. >> well, that's the whole point. >> yes. >> that's the strategy. that's been the strategy from day one. you know, donald trump goes after mitt romney when he steps out of line. not because he thinks he's going to be able to intimidate mitt romney necessarily, but because he's sending a message to all the other republicans who might consider stepping out of line. i will say, you know, when i was talking to romney, he was bracing for this political backlash. yesterday. and he said, look, i know this is going to be really bad. i know that the vast majority of my party is lined up behind trump. he told me that when he -- he's in airports or walks down the street, random people will shout things at him, call him a traitor, t

romney. >> guilty. >> mr. romney, guilty. >> that was political courage. historic political courage. 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 reelection until 2024 when this vote, and possibly even donald trump, will be long forgotten. voting against your party is not the only form 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 that was courageous then. but casting a vote in the senate that makes your own reelection 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

romney -- >> guilty. >> mr. romney, guilty. >> that was political courage. historic political courage. 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-e

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

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

romney? >> i think it will last for a very long time, dana. i worked on the 2012 presidential campaign for president obama, where we worked very hard to defeat mitt romney, but watching him today i was getting choked up and very emotional. i think he cemented his place as a statesman in american history. it is so rare that we see politicians clearly acting against their political interests because they believe that it is right and the right principle. and he did that today. and look, if there is not room in the republican party for somebody for mitt romney who is a trick doing a true conservative, the party going forward will have huge electoral problems with the way the demographics are in the way that they are changing. this is an interesting thing to watch. >> dana: we can talk about party purity in the last few weeks, pete buttigieg, mayor pete is doing well in the eye will result that said there is no room for pro-life proponents in the democratic party. but we will save that for another

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

>> 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

mitch mcconnell said mitt romney is not going anywhere. >> senator romney on the whole has been supportive of what we have been trying to accomplish in the year he has been there, i think this is a mistake. i disagree with it. on the other hand, we have a lot more votes to cast between now and november and i'm going to need his support on a variety of things that are important to the president and to the country. >> let's get into it. kelly o'donnell at the white house, geoff bennett on capitol hill. the president is speaking at noon, what are we getting, a touchdown dance? >> reporter: it will be a statement of victory, surrounded by members of the republican party and lawmakers and his legal team. it showed when you played the clip from a short time ago at the national prayer breakfast where speakers were talking about loving one's enemies and forgiveness, the president chose to pick up the newspapers, and it has to be said, he always ridicules and criticizes the media but embraced that headline to quietly and quite loudly in his demonstration send a message before the prayerful gatherin

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

romney, mr. romney, guilty. >> voting with democrats in favor of convicting the president of abuse of power. >> 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. >> reporter: romney, who did vote to acquit the president on the second article of impeachment. >> not guilty. >> became the first senator ever to vote to convict a president of their own party in an impeachment trial. >> what the president did was grievously wrong and i had to volt, if i was -- vote if i was going to live with my own conscience. >> reporter: a final turn away from the rocky relationship of his president who endorsed romney's 2020 bid. ahead of mr. trump's election in 2016, romney denounced him, igniting a fire storm. >> donald trump is a phoney, a fraud. >> he was begging for my endorsement. >> reporter: the tw

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

romney? mr. romney, quality. >> reporter: utah senator, mitt romney, sent shock waves through the gop, voting to find the president guilty in abuse of office in the ukraine scandal. >> the president asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival. the president withheld funds for that country to do so. it delayed the funds with the ally at war. the president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust. >> reporter: romney defend his position as one of conscience and faith. >> my faith is at the heart of who i am. 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. >> reporter: the senator, who was the party's nominee for the presidency eight years ago, conceded his vote will not sit well with fellow republicans. >> i will tell my children and my children's children, that

romney. mr. romney, guilty. you saw senator mitt romney sent shock waves through the gop voting to find the president guilty of abusing the power of his office in the ukraine scandal. >> 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. accordingly, the president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust. >> reporter: romney defended himself decision as one of conscience and faith. >> my faith is at the heart of who i am. i take an oath before god as enormous live consequential. i knew from the outat the tiset tasked with judging the leader of my own party was the most difficult decision i ever faced. i was not wrong. i will tell my children and their children that i did my duty to the best of my ability, believing that my country expected it of me. >> reporter: the

romney? >> guilty. >> mr. romney, guilty. >> reporter: voting with democrats in favor of convicting the president of abuse of power >> 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. >> reporter: romney, who did vote to acquit the president on the second article of impeachment. >> not guilty. >> reporter: became the first senator ever to vote to convict a president of their own party in an impeachment trial. >> what the president did was grievously wrong, and i had to vote, if i was going to live with my own nscience >> reporter: romney's vote a final turn away from his rocky relationship with the president, who endorsed romney's 2012 presidential bid but ahead of mr. trump's election in 2016, romney denounced him, igniting a firestorm >> donald trump is a phony, a fraud >> you can see how loyal he

romney was one of two republicans to vote for witnesses. he said he hoped john bolton would be able to answer those questions but he didn't. >> how about juxtaposing this with susan collins who said he learned his lesson? we know this president still believes he did nothing wrong. >> after susan collins offered up that sort of triumph of hope over experience statement, the president made it very clear he did not learn a lesson. he believes he did nothing wrong. he will remain defiant and therefore this decision by the senate is likely to empower his worst instincts, not tamper them down. susan collins said she would not even vote for censure as a way for senators who believe the binary choice between removal and acquittal is too much, here's an opportunity to say wha what the president did was wrong, to say clearly what the president did is not right to avoid creating a -- mitt romney took the decisive step forward that was a profile in courage. standing up for what you believe is right against the pressures of your party. >> john avlon, th

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

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

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

romney? mr. romney, guilty. ms. rosen? ms. rosen, guilty. rounds, not guilty. mr. rubio? mr. rubio, not guilty. mr. sanders? mr. sanders, guilty. mr. sass? mr. sass not guilty. mr. shots, guilty. mr. schumer? mr. schumer, guilty. mr. scott of florida? mr. scott of florida, not guilty. mr. scott of south carolina? mr. scott of south carolina, not guilty. mrs. shaheen? guilty. mr. shelby? mr. shelby, not guilty. ms. cinema? ms. cinema, guilty. ms. smith, guilty. ms. stab now? guilty. mr. sullivan? mr. sullivan, not guilty. mr. tester? mr. tester, guilty. mr. thune? not guilty. mr. tillis? mr. tillis, not guilty. mr. toomey? mr. toomey, not guilty. mr. udal, guilty. mr. van haulen, guilty. mr. warner, mr. warner, guilty. ms. warren? ms. warren guilty. mr. whitehouse, guilty. mr. wicker? mr. wicker, not guilty. mr. widen guilty. mr. young? mr. young not guilty. >> this article of impeachment, 48 senators have pronounced donald john trump, president of the united states guilty as charged. 52 senators have pronounced him not guilty. 2/3 not having pronounced him guilty, the respond

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

romney? mr. romney, guilty >> reporter: voting with democrats in favor of convicting the president of abuse of power >> my faith is at the heart of who i am. i take an oath before god as enormously consequential. i knew from the outset 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. >> reporter: romney, who did vote to acquit the president on the second article of impeachment. >> not guilty. >> reporter: became the first senator ever to vote to convict a president of their own party in an impeachment trial. >> what the president did was grieve usually wrong, and i had to vote, if i was going to live with my own conscience >> reporter: romney's vote a final turn away from his rocky relationship with the president, who endorsed romney's 2012 presidential bid but ahead of mr. trump's election in 2016, romney denounced him, igniting a firestorm >> donald trump is a phony, a fraud >> you can see how loyal he

romney. mr. romney, guilty. >> one by one from a senators rose from their seats to declare guilty or not guilty on the first article of impeachment on president trump, abuse of power. >> mr. cornyn. mr. cornyn, not guilty. >> it was a second article and a similar exercise on the charge of obstruction of justice. >> it is therefore ordered and judge that donald john from b and is hereby acquitted of the charges in said articles. >> there are two republicans who wanted to hear from or witnesses. romney was emotional in announcing his decision on the senate floor that he would vote to convict on abuse of power, a quick on obstruction of congress. >> the president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust. what he did was not perfect. it was a flagrant assault on electoral rights, our national security, and our fundamental values. >> romney acknowledged it would not make a final difference on the outcomes but he had to vote his conscience and make his oath to god. republicans >> the speaker of

romney. mr. romney, guilty. ms. rosen. ms. rosen, guilty. mr. rounds. mr. rounds, not guilty. mr. rubio. mr. rubio, not guilty. mr. sanders. mr. sanders, guilty. mr. sass. mr. sass, not guilty. mr. schatz, not guilty. mr. scott of florida not guilty. mr. scott of south carolina, not guilty. ms. shaheen, guilty. mr. shelby. mr. shelby, not guilty. ms. zinema, guilty. ms. smith, guilty. ms. stabenow. ms. stabenow, guilty. mr. sullivan. mr. sullivan, not guilty. mr. tester. mr. tester, guilty. mr. thune. mr. thune not guilty. mr. tillis. mr. tillis, not guilty. mr. toomey. mr. toomey, not guilty. mr. udall. mr. udall, guilty. mr. von holland. mr. van hollen, guilty. mr. warner, not guilty. ms. warren, guilty. mr. whitehouse. mr. whitehouse, guilty. mr. wicker, not guilty. mr. wyden, not guilty. mr. young, not guilty. [ no audio ] >> this article of impeachment, 48 senators have pronounced donald john trump, president of the united states, guilty as charged. 52 senators have announced him not guilty as charged. 2/3 of the senators present not finding him guilty, the senate judges dona

bush, mccain, romney." and charlie sykes up in wisconsin. he wrote this today about mitt romney. "his vote won't change the outcome but it's striking how one man alone can dramatically change the mood, the tone, and the moral character of this final vote." and i was recalling tonight, i've asked you a good number of times right here if mitt romney had it in him. and we've speculated about that. what's your answer tonight? >> the answer tonight is yes. i always thought he would actually vote to convict. i think that's what he believed. and he did it. and i've been struck also over the last however many hours since he voted, seven, eight hours, how moved people seem to be by this. and it's only one vote. it doesn't change the outcome. he's probably pretty safe there in utah and he may not run for re-election five years from now, four years from now, whatever. but i think people are -- they want to believe that some politicians sometimes do the right thing, act on principle, don't simply go with the party or with the pressure on them, are willing to withstand that pressure. and he a

mitt romney showed tremendous, tremendous courage. but also our caucus showed tremendous courage. there were a whole number of democratic people in red states who knew they'd pay a political price, but they did the right thing. and that's why as a united caucus, we are so disappointed in the result, but we do feel we struck a chord for truth and eventually that will serve us well. where do we go from here? one of the first places we go is election security, okay? this trial showed that donald trump wants to do nothing for election security. we are going to pound the republicans on it. as you know, mitch mcconnell has resisted any kind of election security. there were actually bipartisan bills to deal with paper ballots so you could always count if somebody interfered. to harden the machinery so no one, russians, right wingers like you showed before, could hack it. and we have tough sanctions against russia or any other country. we're going to be putting those out before people, and they're going to be forced to vote on it. we're going to push hard for election security as well as

romney? mr. romney, guilty. >> romney's vote, coming after the senator and former presidential candidate, took to the senate floor with a powerful and heartfelt speech. >> my faith is at the heart of who i am. i knew from the outset that judging the president, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision i had ever faced. i was not wrong. the great question, the constitution tasks senators to answer, is whether the president committed an act, so extreme and egregious, that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor. yes, he did. >> so, there's mitt romney talking about faith, duty and doing what's right, while the president of the united states, tweets pretty much exactly the kind of attack you would expect. quote, had failed presidential candidate mitt romney put the same energy to defeat barack obama as he does to me, he could have won the election. what does this say about where we are right now? it is rare to see someone take a stand like mitt romney did. and it

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

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

romney -- just one last word on romney. to the degree that -- i don't think it's going to save the republican party in the short term. i think people like me, we've got to try to help the democrats nominate someone electable and reasonable. and that's the best thing that can happen for the country on november 3rd. so romney doesn't change that. but we do want to have two healthy parties in this country. and romney's vote, it's one senator out of what, 53 senators, 197 or something congressmen, is -- still kind of gives a little bit of a flick herb of light. on another matter i think people have been -- people say trump's emboldened but they need to think concretely what does that mean. and i think it's dangerous and worrisome. look at these stories right away that they were calling in iowa trying to mess up the phones a little bit. that's a tiny tiny little tip of the iceberg with the games they can play on the democratic primary side. but what about using government resources and assets to influence the election campaign d

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

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

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

yesterday they found romney. i say kudos to mr. romney, senator romney, and mr. braun, i'm so ashamed of you. host: ok, that's darling in indiana. we'll go to grand rapids, michigan, democrats line. this is eve. hi. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: good morning. i think that the whole thing was just a travesty with the republicans, because they knew, they knew that donald trump was guilty from the very beginning. and didn't even let the people bring in witness. give me a break. i'm just saying that it really degrades everything that the senate, i can't even look at it like i used to. i can't look at the people and just think that -- you know, this is what they're getting paid for. they're getting paid a good salary to sit up there and lie to this man. they know that this man is a crook, and i must say, also, can someone please tell me, why is he even on taxpayer dollars going around rallying to every city? host: well, eve, back to the senate. you said several times that they know, even though several of the senators went to the floor yesterday, m

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

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

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 president is left in office. although he is left in office with a member of his own party having voted to remove him, which is the first time that's ever happened in our country. but here's something interesting to know about that history-making speech from senator romney today. this speech from him did not happen during what we've come to recognize as a normal session of the senate

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

not guilty. >> reporter: but not mitt romney. >> mr. romney? guilty. >> reporter: the republican from utah emotional as he became the first senator in american history to vote to remove a president of his own party. he called it the most difficult decision he's ever faced. >> 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. >> reporter: romney declared that he is convinced beyond any doubt that president trump pressured ukraine to investigate joe and hunter biden for his own political gain. >> there's no question in my mind that were their names not biden, the president would never have done what he did. >> reporter: he is not the only republican to criticize the president. but romney was the only one who voted to convict. explaining his own vote, senator marco rubio said removing the president would inflict extraordinary and potentially irreparable damage on the country. the trial now over, but in its wake a bitter p

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

romney -- mr. romney, guilty. >> breaking from president trump is a huge risk for any republican. before the vote romney explained his decision in a dramatic speech on the senate floor. >> i am profoundly religious. my faith is at the heart of who i am. i take an oath before god an enormously consequential. i knew from the outset that being tasked with judging of the president, a leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision i have ever faced. i was not wrong. the great question constitution tasks senators to answer is whether a president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor. yes, he did. >> romney said he knew there would be backlash, oh, and it came quickly. the president tweeted out a video calling romney slippery. among other things president trump's son don junior is calling on the republican party to expel him. >> and even though the impeachment saga may have ended neither side is willing to let it go. republican senators are requesting hunter biden's travel records and democratic congressman jerr

we start with you, romney decision, not purely partisan any more. it was in house. now. >> one vote, by one republican. for conviction, does that make a difference. >> not much, mitt romney is considered by conservatives barely a republican. many people think he had a grudge against this president, ever since there was a dal yance about him becoming secretary of state, i don't think that this will have were impact, but on mitt romney's approval ratings which are surging like a stone -- sinking like a stone and worse in his home state than trumps are. david: do you think it was vin n >> i will not question someone's religious faith. which he says he drew on for this decision, i think if -- i think that mitt romney is furious that he did not win in 2012, and someone he thinks much less capable did in 2016. >> liz, i i am you know -- jealousy is a very ugly thing, i talked some political friends in utah they were talking about a recall of mitt romney. there is anger in the state, other thing that surprised me about that vote, two democrats, mansion of west virginia, i

romney think that mitt is a true profile in courage. mike pence and the republicans have been hailing a corrupt republican senator from the 19th century who was bribed into putting johnson as her r profile encourage. bubut really, it was mitt romne. i do notot agree with senator romney's politics as a resident of massachusetts, regularly voted against him, even though he was very popular. i certainly voted against him when he was running against barack obama in 2012. but his speech yesterday struck me as historic. both in the ways in which he evoked his oath of office to the constitution, but also the ways in which he evoked his mormon , ash, his religiousosity moving him to do the right thing. as a historian of abolition, i also appreciated that. i do think that mitt romney will be looked on very kindly by history. and i think it is mind-boggling that trump called him a democratic asset. i mean, this man was the republican presidential candidate in 2012. it just goes to show how much of his political and moral mooring the current gop a

he calls romney sanctimonious. the reason donald trump thinks people are sanctimonious is because the moral considerations that go into their decisions, he doesn't understand those. that doesn't compute with him. >> doug, chris wallace did a really fascinating interview with mitt romney after all of this. and he said at one point, you know, you realize this is war. and romney responded by saying, i understand there are going to be enormous consequences. and i don't have a choice in that regard. what do you expect? beyond the president lashing out at him as he did left night and will continue to do and just did this morning. what are those enormous consequences for senator romney? >> it's what we're seeing right now and people who like to make noise and get rewarded for making noise are going to do so. when it comes from somebody as important as the president of the united states, that's going to have even bigger reverberations. but ultimately, in the united states senate, i don't think there are going to be massive

romney a secret spy. a secret asset for the democratic party. of course, senator romney said in his speech, just heard him. he said i will be vehemently denounced. i will sure to hear abuse from the president and his supporters. does anyone believe i would consent to these consequences other than an inescapable conviction that my oath before god demanded of me. he knew what was coming. he said he knew what was coming as he delivered those remarks. during the impeachment trial, as the trial unfolded, we frequently saw protests breakout against the president and in favor of his removal from office in the nation's capitol. [ chanting ] >> protests from last week while the trial was going on. today the final vote on the president's fate had not yet taken place when the first protests kicked off inside the capitol rotunda. these women locked arms in the center of the rotunda chanting, trump is it goody. they got arrested by capitol police. this evening anti-trump protesters, pro removal protesters, started sho

also senator romney. this week romney saying his deep faith led him to vote to remove the president. quid, pro and hunter at the same time. liberal morning joe praising romney's higher calling. fake news jim across tax that's right, calling it a profile in courage. far left hack jennifer rubin writing romney is a man of uncommon decency and honor. the media mob fawning over romney all day. i recall it really wasn't that long ago that that same media mob was falsely accusing romney let's see of being a racist, a sexist, misogynist and tax cheat and a felon. well, pierre defect it's o your new friends, just a reminder. >> once again mitt stepped in it calling russia our number one geopolitical enemy. what's this the evil empire again? >> he also had [inaudible] every morning. >> it's going to be the joke that keeps on giving. >> can he relate to working women? you know, made it sound almost like working women are some mail order product. >> one huge explosive word out there just incendiary, victims. >> it w

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

romney, mr. romney, guilty. >> tonight as

. >>> mitt romney firestorm. the only republican senator who voted to convict president trump at the impeachment trial faces a new wave of insults. what president trump's son said about romney overnightnd how the president himself is now lashing out. >>> book store backlash. a plan to sell some of the most famous novels in allf literature with new covers more culturally diverse. how the idea backfired and the new response to the controversy. >>> plus, new results overnight from the iowa caucus vote. the big news for senator bernie sanders and how joe biden is going on the attack. >>> the dramatic video from two disasters overseas. what we've learned about this passenger plane that split apart after crashing off the runway and the new video of the avalanche rescue. an entire bus trapped beneath the snow. >>> later, a moment of inspiration inside this target store. how just one photo can meaning so much. >>> good thursday morning. thank you for joining us. we begin with millions of americans on alert for severe wea