Romney to deliver major speech on 2016 race
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Mitt Romney plans to deliver a major speech on the state of the 2016 race for the White House Thursday, amid rising panic among some Republican leaders that Donald Trump may be cruising to the nomination.
The 2012 Republican presidential nominee will speak at 11:30 a.m. ET from the University of Utah. Exactly what Romney will say was not immediately clear, though there were no signs that Romney would either endorse a candidate or jump into the race himself.
Romney considered another White House run at the beginning of 2015 before deciding against the move, reportedly after being out-raised by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush -- who has since suspended his campaign.
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Despite his decision not to run, there has been widespread media speculation that he could be tempted back into the race in the case of a contested Republican convention as a last gasp way to stop Trump.
The speech comes after Trump racked up a string of Super Tuesday wins, building a wide -- though not insurmountable -- delegate lead over closest rivals Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.
The former Massachusetts governor has become increasingly vocal in his opposition to the business mogul.
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Last week, Romney told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto that he believes there may be a “bombshell” in Trump’s tax returns, and called for Trump to release his returns as soon as possible.
He later criticized Trump for not immediately disavowing the support of former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke.
Although Trump did later disavow Duke, Romney called his response “disqualifying and disgusting.”
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A disqualifying & disgusting response by @realDonaldTrump to the KKK. His coddling of repugnant bigotry is not in the character of America.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) February 29, 2016
Trump responded to Romney with barbs of his own, calling him "one of the dumbest and worst candidates in the history of Republican politics."
Fox News' John Roberts contributed to this report.