Story highlights
- Romney and Trump have a fraught relationship
- Romney condemned the President's remarks in a tweet Monday
(CNN)Mitt Romney took a swipe at President Donald Trump on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, condemning his "shithole countries" remark.
The comment signals that the potential Utah Senate candidate continues to have no problem speaking out against the Trump administration.
"The poverty of an aspiring immigrant's nation of origin is as irrelevant as their race. The sentiment attributed to POTUS is inconsistent w/ America's history and antithetical to American values. May our memory of Dr. King buoy our hope for unity, greatness, & 'charity for all,'" the 2012 GOP presidential nominee tweeted.
Trump last week referred to African nations as "shithole countries" during an Oval Office discussion about immigration, a source briefed on the meeting told CNN. On Friday, he denied using that language.
Romney is expected to declare his intention to seek the Republican nomination to replace outgoing Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch within the next few weeks, according to several sources in Romney's orbit.
The former Massachusetts governor has been an outspoken critic of Trump's policies and rhetoric, calling him a "phony" and "a fraud" during the 2016 campaign.
Despite their at-times fraught relationship, Trump considered Romney for the secretary of state post, and the two spoke by phone recently, according to a White House official.
