In summer of 2018, The Tribune published an op-ed of my own pen, in which I (rightfully) denounced then Senate candidate Mitt Romney for his ambivalence on Donald Trump’s ideology of white supremacy, and his silence on Trump’s horrific treatment of immigrant children. I concluded the piece with the prediction that Romney would prove to be a mere sycophant and would never stand up to the president, writing: “Romney is an ectothermic scoundrel, bound to submit to Trump’s black ambitions as readily as any Republican politician of 2018.”
In 2020, I find myself honor-bound to publicly eat my own words: While I do not (and indeed none of us ought to) release Sen. Romney from accountability for complying with many of the Trump administration’s violent projects during his young career as senator, I squarely admit that Romney’s vote to impeach Donald Trump proves me dead wrong about his character. Romney showed courage. I would even like to say that Romney has somehow saved the heart of the Republic. In reality, of course, little will come of this: Democrats alone will celebrate Romney’s only courageous moment; his own party will cannibalize him. But history will not mark him a scoundrel. Ecce homo.
Atticus Edwards, Salt Lake City