Senator Mitt Romney is retiring. On his way out the door, there is a book coming out where Romney trashes some of his fellow Republicans.

Journalist McKay Coppins’ upcoming book, “Romney: A Reckoning,” includes a slam against former Vice President Mike Pence and his performance in that office. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and currently the junior senator from Utah, made disparaging remarks about several of his colleagues in Washington, D.C.

Romney is quoted in the book as saying, “no one was more loyal, more willing to smile when he saw absurdities, more willing to ascribe God’s will to things that were ungodly than Mike Pence.” He is claiming that Pence did not live up to his devotion to Christianity because he was loyal to Trump while in office, standing up for him until he didn’t.

It’s usually Democrats who mock or question Pence’s Christian faith. It comes off more as sour grapes than anything else. Romney ran for president in 2012 and lost what should have been a winnable election. He asked for and received Donald Trump’s endorsement in that election. A press conference was held to announce the endorsement and the two stood on a stage together. Everyone was happy. In the 2016 election, Mitt Romney did what he could to torpedo Trump’s candidacy. When Trump won, Romney again flip flopped and asked for a job in Trump’s cabinet. So, Romney ran for the Senate and won. Ever since, he has done what he can to poke a finger in Trump’s eye and in the eyes of Trump’s supporters. Romney is the only Republican who voted for both of Trump’s impeachments.

Mike Pence is running for the Republican presidential nomination. Normally soft-spoken and amiable, he has taken to speaking his mind in interviews. This is exactly what he should be doing and it’s good to see him rise up. It is especially good to see Mike Pence respond to Romney’s holier-than-thou comments. Pence appeared on CNN’s State of the Union, and host Jake Tapper asked him about Romney’s remarks.

“You know, when that phone rang in 2016, my wife and I went to prayer about the invitation to join the national ticket,” Pence said. “I believe we were called to serve and I’m incredibly proud of the record of the Trump-Pence administration. In just those four short years, we rebuilt our military, revived our economy, and appointed three conservatives to our [Supreme Court]. That gave us a new beginning for the right to life.”

The former vice president continued: “Look, Mitt Romney has no idea what I was doing in the administration. I haven’t talked to Mitt Romney for years. I think he can go off into retirement. I think he was even critical of his old running mate Paul Ryan in the pages of [Coppins’ biography of him]. I know the stands that we took and the stands that we maintained, and I will always believe that we were called to that fight.”

That is peak Mike Pence. Prayerful consideration of a big opportunity, feeling called to serve his country, and highlighting successes of the previous administration. He got it all into his answer. “I haven’t talked to Mitt Romney for years.” Ouch.

Pence also noted that Romney was critical of Paul Ryan, his 2012 running mate, in the book.

On Sunday, Pence said he was proud of his work in the Trump administration and dismissed Romney’s comments. He said the former presidential nominee had also spoken ill of his own vice presidential running mate and fellow Trump critic Paul Ryan to Coppins for the upcoming biography.

“I think he was even critical of his old running mate Paul Ryan in the pages of [the book],” Pence said. “I know the stands that we took and the stands that we maintained, and I will always believe that we were called to that fight.”

Just retire, Mitt. Try to do so gracefully. We have a country to save in 2024.