Trump unloads on Romney ahead of speech

Donald Trump is going on offense against Mitt Romney ahead of the 2012 Republican presidential nominee’s speech Thursday in which he is expected to criticize the outspoken businessman.

{mosads}Trump posted a series of tweets Thursday morning calling Romney a “failed candidate” who “doesn’t know how to win” and claiming Romney begged for his endorsement four years ago.

Trump paired his criticism of Romney with a claim that he is the only candidate capable of defeating Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and ripped GOP establishment favorite Marco Rubio.

Failed candidate Mitt Romney,who ran one of the worst races in presidential history,is working with the establishment to bury a big “R” win!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2016

I have brought millions of people into the Republican Party, while the Dems are going down. Establishment wants to kill this movement!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2016

Why would the great people of Florida vote for a guy who, as a Senator, never even shows up to vote – worst record. Marco Rubio is a joke!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2016

I am the only one who can beat Hillary Clinton. I am not a Mitt Romney, who doesn’t know how to win. Hillary wants no part of “Trump”

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2016

Why did Mitt Romney BEG me for my endorsement four years ago?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2016

The criticism is an attempt to undermine Romney’s speech later Thursday at the University of Utah where Romney plans to characterize the 2016 GOP front-runner as “a phony, a fraud.”

According to his prepared remarks, Romney will say that America faces “another time for choosing,” invoking 1964 address by Ronald Reagan, before arguing the election could have “profound consequences” for Republicans and the country.