The tattoo today (left) and in 2012.
The Indiana man who had the Mitt Romney 2012 campaign logo tattooed on his face in October 2012 will not support Romney this time around.
When Eric Hartsburg first heard Monday that Romney was considering another bid for the presidency in 2016, his first thought, he told BuzzFeed News, was "maybe there is something in it for me."
But Hartsburg quickly realized that he did not think Romney could win.
"He's going to say something later on to mess it up," he said. "You are waiting for him to shoot himself in the foot. It's going to look real good and then — bam something else — he screws it up."
Hartsburg was paid $15,000 by an anonymous Republican eBay user to get the tattoo, according to ABC News. Since the 2012 election, he said he has had two laser treatments to remove the now-faded tattoo from his face, adding that he's ready to part with and "diss" Romney for good.
If Romney does ultimately run in 2016, Hartsburg's advice for him is to "keep your mouth shut; there is always someone recording. Don't mess it up. It might be too late for that guy..."
"I was loyal to it for a long time," he said of the tattoo. "It was a good a deal but I can part [now]."
Hartsburg said his focus was on the economy in 2012, but he's lost hope that it will get better and is now focusing on LGBT issues as his top priority, another reason he said he could not support Romney.
"That's the civil rights movement of our time," he said.
Hartsburg added that he's willing to sell the space, and cited Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, and Hillary Clinton as interesting candidates, but told BuzzFeed News he is "wide open."