Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) rejected suggestions that he was weighing a potential bid for the White House alongside Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Thursday despite saying he would not support former President Donald Trump.
Romney was one of two Republicans Manchin had floated as a possible running mate on Thursday before he announced Friday he was putting speculation about running a third-party challenge to President Joe Biden to bed.
“Well, that’s really presumptuous,” Romney told Deseret News of Manchin’s comment on Thursday. “I would be the president. He would be my running mate. No, I’m not going to run for president. Certainly I’m not running for vice president. But [Manchin is] kind to say that. We’re good friends.”
It is not clear whether Romney’s rebuttal played a role in Manchin’s decision, which came after a year of speculation.
Romney said he has not decided whom he would endorse in the 2024 presidential race but that he would not be supporting Trump. Other Trump critics, such as former Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie, have also said they would not support Trump even as the party’s nominee.
Manchin began to travel around the country in November, after he announced he was not running for reelection in the Senate, to see if there could be interest in a movement to mobilize centrists across the country. The potential had raised concerns from Democrats that a third-party candidate could siphon support away from Biden in the general election.
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Romney has also announced that he would not seek reelection at the end of his term in 2026, saying it was time for a “new generation of leaders” because he would be in his 80s at the end of a second term. Romney is currently 76 and will be 78 when he finishes his only term in the upper chamber.
Manchin, who was rumored to be considering a bid with the centrist group No Labels, made the announcement while delivering a speech from Morgantown, West Virginia, with his Americans Together organization.
