Romney on Vance in 2023 book: "It's not like you’re going to be famous and powerful"

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) had some choice words for former President Trump's newly announced running mate, J.D. Vance, according to author McKay Coppins, who interviewed Romney extensively for his 2023 book " Romney: A Reckoning ."

What's inside: "I don't know that I can disrespect someone more than J.D. Vance," Romney told Coppins in a book excerpt that appeared in The Atlantic .

Catch up quick: Romney lambasted Vance for what Coppins described as his "MAGA makeover" during his successful 2021 Senate run in Ohio.

• Vance's star rose in 2016 when his book "Hillbilly Elegy" was published, and shot up the charts as an explanation for white, working-class voters' support for Trump.
• Previously a never-Trump moderate, Vance became an arch-conservative election denier who opposes nearly all exemptions to abortion bans .

The intrigue: "How can you go over a line so stark as that — and for what?" Romney said. "It's not like you're going to be famous and powerful because you became a United States senator."

Editor's note: This story's headline has been updated to clarify Romney's comments appeared in his 2023 book.