Mitt Romney was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for being the only Republican senator to vote to impeach Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial.
‘I’m very appreciative of the honor, but also humbled by it,’ Romney told NBC’s ‘Today Show’ on Friday.
Trump’s first impeachment trial in January 2020 focused on the former president’s relationship with Ukraine. Romney was the only Republican senator to find Trump guilty on one of the two impeachment articles. He came under heavy fire from the former president and Trump supporters for his vote.
‘I sleep well because I know that I did what my conscience told me was the right thing to do,’ Romney said.
He became the first senator to vote to convict a member of his own party, which earned him the honor from the Kennedy family.
Mitt Romney was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his vote to convict Donald Trump in former president’s first impeachment trial
Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present the award to Romney as part of a virtual ceremony in May 2021
The Profile in Courage Award was created by the family of the late President John F. Kennedy to honor public figures who risk their careers by embracing unpopular positions for the greater good.
‘I’m humbled by the Kennedy family’s recognition today. But I see courage every week from my colleagues in the Senate, many of whom make tough decisions to do what they believe is right even though it may be politically unpopular,’ Romney wrote on Twitter.
Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, told NBC News that Romney’s actions were reminiscent of the lawmakers highlighted in her father’s book ‘Profiles in Courage.’
‘He was willing to risk his career and his popularity within his own party to do what´s right for our country and to follow his conscience and Constitution and his impeachment votes,’ she said.
Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present the award to Romney as part of a virtual ceremony in May 2021.
Romney’s vote didn’t matter in the final impeachment tally – there were not enough votes to convict Trump even with Romney’s – but it did make Trump’s impeachment a bipartisan event which kept the White House from portraying the trial as Democratic partisanship.
His vote also earned him the ire of Trump.
In a speech in the East Room of the White House after he was acquitted, Trump referred to Romney as a ‘failed presidential candidate’ who used ‘religion on as crutch.’
‘And then you had some that used religion as a crutch. They never used it before,’ Trump said. ‘But you know, it’s a failed presidential candidate, so things can happen when you fail so badly running for president.’
Romney, a devout Mormon, said on the Senate floor ahead of his ‘yes’ vote: ‘As a Senate juror, I swore an oath before God to exercise impartial justice.’
In Trump’s second impeachment trial, held in February after Trump left office, seven Republican senators – including Romney – found the former president guilty of ‘incitement of insurrection’ in regards to the January 6th MAGA riot. But it was not enough votes to convict Trump as a conviction requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate.
Donald Trump blasted Romney for his impeachment vote, calling him a failed presidential candidate
Mitt Romney became the first senator to vote to convict a member of his own party with his January 2020 vote against Donald Trump
Romney told NBC’s ‘Today Show’ on Friday that there was ‘some irony’ in his receiving the award, not because of his own ‘personal failings from time to time,’ he said, but because he previously ran for office against a Kennedy, JFK’s younger brother Ted.
He challenged Kennedy for his Senate seat in 1994 and lost the race. Romney later ran for governor of the state and won.
‘We became very good friends as time went on and actually collaborated together on a piece of legislation to provide health care to all the citizens of our state,’ Romney said, referring to the health-care reform law he enacted in 2006 as governor of Massachusetts.
He added the country needs that kind of bipartisanship.
‘I think common ground is the best way to unify the country. I’m afraid if the president of either party instead just follows the demands of the most aggressive wing in his party, you may have that wing satisfied, but the nation has become more divided. You’ve got to find common ground and work with people in both parties and get answers to issues that are bipartisan,’ he said.
