I respectfully disagree with the author of “An eerie absence in Romney’s commentary” (by Atticus Edwards, July 15), in which Mitt Romney’s moderate response to Donald Trump is characterized as cowardly self-preservation.
Romney’s refusal to attack Trump when not absolutely necessary is undoubtedly self-preservation, but such self-preservation is calculated, not cowardly. Romney knows that the president and his administration represent extremists within the Republican Party, and he also knows that attacks on Trump merely provide him with more opposition on which to thrive.
Of late, Romney seems to be picking his battles with Trump cautiously, in the hopes of surviving and outlasting Trump.