Sources tell the Washington Post that, despite repeated outreach efforts from the Vice President’s team, Utah Senator Mitt Romney does not plan on endorsing Kamala Harris because of ideological and policy differences and all that shit. Plus he’s “questioned the value and impact of his endorsement and expressed a desire to preserve his ability to rebuild the Republican Party in a post-Trump world, said three people familiar with those conversations and his thinking who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations,” according to the Post.

Which is fine. We think it’s stupid, but fine. However the Post then writes that Romney “has also cited concerns for the safety of his family as one reason for his reluctance to endorse her, a person familiar with his thinking said, also speaking on the condition of anonymity to disclose private conversations.” Obviously that should be the most important consideration but the fact that he even brings it up makes the normal political reasons seem like self-rationalized afterthoughts.

Hard to see how the takeaway could be anything other than fear of violent retribution. We can respect that, but if he’s already spending $5,000 a day on private security after having voted to convict Trump in both of his impeachment trials then how much worse could it get if he endorses Trump’s opponent? Is he just hoping that the MAGA terrorists will forget eventually about him once he’s out of office a year from now so he can eventually dial back on the protection detail?