Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney should by no means make a bid for the presidency in 2016 because "he had his chance and he blew it," says real estate mogul Donald Trump.
In an interview Tuesday, Trump also expressed his disappointment with Romney's performance in the final four weeks of the 2012 campaign against President Barack Obama.
"No. I don't think he should run. He had his chance and he blew it," Trump told
Breitbart News. "He had a great chance of winning. He should have won. That was an election that, frankly, should have been a much easier election than the probable 2016 candidate Hillary [Clinton]. That was an election that should have been won by the Republicans."
Earlier this month, speculation mounted that Romney might make another presidential bid after a visit to
Iowa to campaign on behalf of GOP Senate candidate Joni Ernst.
According to
The Washington Post, confidants have said they think Romney is grappling with whether he would take up the challenge should the party draft him, while multiple GOP donors have pleaded with him to throw his hat into the ring.
Romney and his wife, Ann, have tried to stamp out speculation that he will make a bid, repeatedly saying he is not considering it.
"I'm not running and I'm not planning on running. I've got nothing to add to that story," he told supporters earlier this month while on the campaign trail in
Georgia.
In two separate interviews last week, Ann Romney also ruled out a possible run.
"Done," she told
The Los Angeles Times. "Completely. Not only Mitt and I are done, but the kids are done," she said, in reference to their five sons. "Done. Done. Done."
She also made similar comments during an appearance on NBC's "Today" show.
Meanwhile, a
Washington Post/ABC News poll out earlier this week found that Romney had the highest support among likely voters of any potential 2016 candidate, with 21 percent.
A
Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll last week showed that Romney would be the only potential GOP candidate who would beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Iowa in a hypothetical match-up.
Specifically, 44 percent of likely Iowa voters said they would support Romney, compared to 43 percent who said they would back Clinton.
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