Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) announced Wednesday that he would vote to convict President Donald Trump, a move that wasn’t entirely surprising. As soon as Romney finished speaking, Fox News’ Chris Wallace announced that he had interviewed Romney just hours earlier about his decision. The network then immediately broadcast the exclusive interview.

Saying it was “the last decision I wanted to make,” Romney owned up to being swayed by the Democrats’ talking points.

I believe that the act he took, an effort to corrupt an election, is as destructive an attack on the oath of office as I can imagine. I do believe that he should be removed from office. That’s the vote I will make in just a short while.

Romney’s Senate comments were couched in Mormon terminology and a melodramatic recitation of the weight of his conscience and the oath he swore before God. To Wallace, Romney shared the same sentiments.

When I heard there was going to be an impeachment investigation…I dreaded the responsibility I’d have, but I was not willing to abdicate the responsibility given to me by the Constitution, nor to ignore my conscience out of personal and political…considerations. I had to follow my conscience. This, for me, is a — well, it’s the most difficult decision I’ve ever made in my life.

Romney said he spoke to all of his children and their spouses about the potential blowback that could affect them as well. He admitted that he is going to be very lonely in Washington, DC after this vote. His performance in the Wallace interview had a martyr-ish “like a lamb to the slaughter” feel to them and, as one pundit told Dana Perino after the interview was broadcast, the best thing for Trump and Republicans to do would be to deny Romney any “blowback.”

Sure, Romney said he didn’t care what the consequences would be – but he sure made a coordinated media push ahead of the announcement of his vote. He sat down in his office Tuesday with McKay Coppins (who also noted Romney’s reliance on Mormonisms) and on Wednesday morning with Wallace and the Fox News cameras, choosing journos who have been sympathetic to his Trump Derangement Syndrome. That wasn’t calculated at all, right?

Watch Romney’s entire interview below, if you have the stomach.

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