Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said the public should not support former President Donald Trump after the decision of a New York jury that found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation, CNN reported.
"I hope the jury of the American people reach the same conclusion about Donald Trump," Romney said. "He just is not suited to be president of the United States and to be the person who we hold up to our children and the world as the leader of the free world."
Romney added: "At some point when the people who work with you, your Cabinet secretaries, and juries conclude that you've done something severely wrong, it's time for us to recognize that the great majority of those who've worked with him are right, and he's wrong."
A jury Tuesday found Trump, currently the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment, The Associated Press reported.
Although jurors rejected Carroll's claims that she was raped, they found Trump liable for sexually abusing her.
Other Republican congressmen agreed with Romney. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said Trump "got what he deserved," CNN reported. "The jury spoke, and I respect the jury. I think he showed a lot of disrespect for the jury and the court. ... The way he treated them, he got what he deserved."
Bacon has already said he won't support Trump for president in 2024, saying the former president is "too divisive" to win the White House.
Most Republican legislators defended Trump. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said, "I think the New York legal system is off the rails when it comes to Donald Trump." Sen. Marco Rubio. R-Fla., added: "That jury is a joke. The whole case is a joke."