Politics Mitt Romney Explains Why He Would ‘Absolutely Not’ Vote for Trump over Biden The Utah senator said he has two criteria for choosing a candidate — and Trump misses the marks By Julia Moore Julia Moore Julia Moore is a digital news writer at PEOPLE. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on March 5, 2024 10:26AM EST Close Mitt Romney; Donald Trump. Photo: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty; James Devaney/GC Images Mitt Romney has made clear one person who will not be getting his vote in the 2024 presidential election. The outgoing Utah senator, 76, broke down his thought process behind who he believes deserves to be “the leader of my country and the person who is the example of the president for my kids and my grandkids” during an appearance on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins. When Collins, 31, asked if he would vote for Donald Trump over Joe Biden in the November election, Romney replied, “No. No, no, absolutely not.” Historians Rank Donald Trump Worst U.S. President Again, with Biden in 14th Place Romney said that there are “two factors” that influence his decision when it comes to casting his vote: “One is their position and policies and on foreign policy I’m not aligned with Donald Trump, at least as I understand his policy. On domestic policy, yeah, I align with many of his domestic policies. But there’s another dimension besides policy — and that’s character.” He continued, “What America is as a nation, what has allowed us to be the most powerful nation on Earth, and the leader of the Earth, is the character of the people who have been our leaders. Past presidents, but also mothers, fathers, church leaders, university presidents, and so forth." Speaking about Trump, Romney added, "Having a president who is so defaulted of character would have an enormous impact on the character of America. And for me, that’s the primary consideration.” Mitt Romney Receives JFK Profile in Courage Award for Voting to Convict Trump Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at Big League Dreams Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. Ian Maule/Bloomberg via Getty Elaborating on how his foreign policy views differ from Trump’s, Romney said that a Trump win in November would lead to a “dramatic departure” from the United States' foreign policy strategy of the last near-century. “I think that people around the world say, ‘Okay, America is no longer the leader of the free world and the arsenal of democracy. It’s no longer the City on the Hill. It’s now an isolated island,’” the senator said of what he’d expect if Trump returned to the White House. Nikki Haley Reacts After Trump Says He's 'Encouraged' Russia to 'Do Whatever the Hell They Want' to Some NATO Allies Romney’s comments come as Trump and Biden barrel toward a 2024 electoral rematch by decisively leading their party's primary races.