(KTVX) — Utah’s Sen. Mitt Romney was confronted by self-described “patriots” while traveling to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Videos posted to Twitter show Romney sitting at Salt Lake International Airport using a laptop while waiting for his flight.
In one video, Romney can be heard asking the person recording to “please put a mask on.” The unidentified person can be heard saying they are standing far enough away, but Romney, who can be seen wearing one, continued to make the request.
The person then asks him why he isn’t supporting President Donald Trump.
Romney says he “agrees with many of the things [Trump] is for.” When asked if he will support Trump regarding “fraudulent votes,” Romney says he will not, adding that it’s a “long story.”
Romney released a statement over the weekend saying a plan by fellow Republican senators to oppose the voting certification for several states is an “egregious ploy” that “dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic.”
In one video, which garnered 4.4 million views, a person can be heard asking Romney why he did not support Trump in the election. Romney admits he did not, and the person says he was “voted in as a conservative to represent the conservative constituents.” The senator replies, “That’s not how the Constitution works.”
The senator is among a group of Republicans condemning others trying to overturn the presidential election.
Pressing Romney further, the person filming said the senator is meant to represent “us,” and Romney responded by saying he “works for the people of Utah.”
As Romney walks away, the person recording repeatedly calls him a joke then appears to reference recently inaugurated Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, calling him Romney’s “little friend Cox” and alleging that he “assaulted me last night, Cox did.”
In a separate video posted to Twitter on Tuesday, the tweet suggests that Romney is aboard “a flight full of patriots.”
Numerous passengers in the video are chanting “traitor” and “traitor Mitt.”
Someone can also be heard yelling, “Mitt Romney, you don’t listen to your constituents.”
Utah’s second senator, Republican Mike Lee, tweeted Wednesday morning, condemning the actions seen in the videos.
Lee said, in part, “We as a country need to be better than this.”
Lee, unlike Romney and Reps. Burgess Owens, Chris Stewart, and John Curtis, has not released an official statement regarding Wednesday’s Congressional meeting to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral win.
