Mitt Romney Rules Out Voting for Donald Trump in 2024, Cites E. Jean Carroll Sexual Abuse Verdict

Utah Senator Mitt Romney announced he will not vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

Romney's decision comes in response to a court’s findings that Trump sexually abused E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s while she was in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room.

The court’s finding came from a Manhattan jury last year, which also awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.

Further adding to Trump's legal troubles, a New York jury recently ordered him to pay Carroll $83 million for defamation after the former president claimed he never met her.

Trump stated he intends to appeal the ruling, calling it “absolutely ridiculous” and accusing the legal system of being used as a “political weapon.”

Despite the 77-year-old's response, Romney emphasized the significance of the court’s finding, stating that sexual assault is a line he will not cross in selecting a president.

The court’s finding against Trump was made in a civil lawsuit and does not represent a criminal conviction. Nevertheless, Romney has indicated that he will "zero in" on this verdict amidst Trump’s other legal issues.

The former president currently faces 91 felony charges in four separate criminal prosecutions. Romney believes these allegations and legal troubles disqualify Trump from being a viable candidate.

Romney has previously hinted at his voting intentions in the last presidential election. He did not vote for Trump in 2020 and has not ruled out the possibility of voting for President Joe Biden.

The former Republican nominee for president has expressed concerns about Trump's leadership, describing him as "dangerous for the country" and highlighting his authoritarian tendencies.

While Romney has indicated that he finds most of the other Republican candidates acceptable, he singled out entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as an exception. However, after the Iowa caucus, Ramaswamy has dropped out of the race and is now campaigning for Trump.

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According to Real Clear Politics, Trump is averaging around a 1.1-point lead over Biden in recent polls — with a recent YouGov poll showing less than a one-point swing in the former president's favor.

This keeps the race in a statistical tie between the two likely candidates when factoring in the margin of error. However, both candidates' futures in the general election have come into question in recent months.