SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — In an extraordinary display of Republican chaos, the party's most recent presidential candidates, Mitt Romney and John McCain, took on current front-runner Donald Trump on Thursday, calling him unfit for office and a danger for the nation and the GOP.
"His is not the temperament of a stable, thoughtful leader," Romney declared. He called Trump "a phony" who is "playing the American public for suckers," a man whose "imagination must not be married to real power."
In the most notable attacks on Trump as party leaders try to stop his run to the GOP nomination, Romney and House Speaker Paul Ryan, the party's vice presidential nominee in 2012, urged voters in the strongest terms to shun the former reality television star for the good of country and party.
The GOP's 2008 nominee, Arizona Sen. McCain, joined in, raising "many concerns about Mr. Trump's uninformed and indeed dangerous statements on national security issues that have been raised by 65 Republican defense and foreign policy leaders."
Romney embraced what might seem a long-shot approach to deny Trump the delegates necessary to secure the nomination. He did not call on Republicans to unify behind a single alternative candidate but outlined a plan to divide the electorate and force a contested national convention in July.
"Given the current delegate selection process, this means that I would vote for Marco Rubio in Florida, for John Kasich in Ohio and for Ted Cruz or whichever one of the other two contenders has the best chance of beating Mr. Trump in a given state," Romney said.
As he spoke in Utah, Ryan said on Capitol Hill that "conservatism is being disfigured" by some of Trump's ideas and statements.
Underlying the remarkable criticism was a bleak reality for panicking Republican officials: Beyond harsh words, there is little they see they can do to stop Trump's march toward the Republican presidential nomination. Party leaders are poring over complicated delegate math, outlining their own hazy scenarios for a contested national convention and even flirting with the idea of a third-party effort.
Trump responded to Romney's speech at a campaign stop in Portland, Maine, saying the former Massachusetts governor "chickened out" when contemplation another presidential run this year when he understood he'd be going up against the billionaire businessman.
"He doesn't have what it takes to be president," Trump said, adding, "I made so much more money than Mitt."
Romney's views are irrelevant, he said. "Look, Mitt is a failed candidate."
The back-and-forth came as the Republican candidates prepared for their first post-Super Tuesday debate, scheduled for Thursday night in Detroit.
The pre-debate clash took place four years after Romney and Trump stood side by side in Las Vegas, with Trump saying it was a "real honor and privilege" to endorse Romney's White House bid. Romney at the time praised Trump's ability to "understand how our economy works and to create jobs for the American people."
On Thursday, Trump said Romney "was begging me" for an endorsement.
"I could have said, 'Mitt, drop to your knees.' He would have dropped to his knees," Trump said.
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