Had Mitt Romney defeated President Barack Obama for the presidency in 2012, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl might still be a prisoner to the Taliban in Afghanistan.
“I don’t think I would have made the trade,” the 2012 Republican presidential nominee said Thursday on NBC’s “Today Show.”
Bergdahl was charged Wednesday with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, about nine months after he was freed by his captors after Obama agreed to release five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. One of the prisoners had tried to contact the Taliban from his captivity in Qatar, according to a Director of National Intelligence report.
Romney said that while the U.S. military has a policy of “leave no one behind,” the U.S. also has a policy of not negotiating with terrorists. And Romney suggested the Taliban prisoners represented a threat and should note have been released.
Romney added that Obama should have consulted Congress before making the swap.
Romney briefly considered a third presidential run earlier this year but quickly bowed out, calling for a new generation of political leaders to take the helm and lead the GOP to the White House.
But would Romney consider the No. 2 spot?
“I don’t think anyone wants to be V.P.,” Romney said on NBC.
